One-Winged Witch
by IfIQuitNowTheyWin
Summary: Hermione Granger is no ordinary fifteen-year-old woman. Words to describe her included intelligent, bossy, and know-it-all. Over the years, some have been added: witch, loyal, fierce. Mudblood. But no one is ready for what recent events have molded her into... Sorceress. SOLDIER. Heir to the Nightmare, the One-Winged Angel Sephiroth. The One-Winged Witch.
1. Seize and Evade

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **AN:**

My creative juices have been unhappy with the fact I couldn't find a story that dealt mainly with my favorite characters from each universe: Hermione and Sephiroth. So I ended up planning one. And then writing it. I welcome all kind of feedback: constructive criticism help me improve my craft; nice comments keep me writing when times get hard; and flames are printed out and I use them in the winter to keep warm ;)

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER ONE

Seize and Evade

#

Hermione Granger was no ordinary fifteen-year-old, young woman. She was a self-acknowledged swot, who regularly borrowed encyclopedias from libraries for some 'light reading'. She possessed an eidetic memory, which helped in her academic endeavors. She was also the best friend of a boy named Harry Potter, who had been slated since he was a toddler to kill an evil wizard. And yes, Hermione was a witch. A powerful one, according to most who knew her. The brightest witch of her age.

But it seemed that counted for nothing as a large ball of fire crashed through the front window of her house. Her father shouted in a mix of surprise and fear as the attack missed him by only a few feet. And Hermione froze in the doorway she had just been walking through, eyes wide as she watched the spell wreck though the TV set that sat in the corner. And she had no doubt about that point: this was spell fire. But even as her mind acknowledged this, there was only two words circling around inside her brain, 'what now?' It was her mother's terrified screamed that kick start both her father and herself into action though. Hermione turned on her heels to rush back to the kitchen, dropping the tray of hot drinks she had been carrying and drawing her wand. For the corner of her eyes, she saw her father vault over the back of the couch. But pain exploded inside Hermione's body and she collapsed on the floor in a twisted heap, legs twitching on the linoleum-covered floor. Bizarrely, Hermione noted she was facing the hallway now.

"Hello, little mudblood."

The voice was sweet and Hermione shivered as she felt a hand petting her hair. The sensation was far from pleasant, as the fire from the previous curse was still spreading across her nerves and even that soft touch was enough to make the young witch moan in pain.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

Her father's shouting was cut short as a shadow moved behind him and struck him down. Hermione gasped as tears filled her eyes.

"There, there, poor little mudblood. Auntie Bella will take good care of her new pet."

The young witch choked on her cries as the witch above her pushed the handle of her wand into her ribs. A sadistic little smile played about of the woman's face, curly black hair framing a pale face with gleaming black eyes. And Hermione suddenly realized just who she was staring at. She may not have met the crazed witch, but she had heard and read enough about Bellatrix Lestrange to recognize her.

"Now, you will be a good little pet. And you will come with us quietly. Or I can promise you to make your stay with us extremely long. For you as well as your parents."

Hermione moaned as the older witch pulled her head back, forcing her to look at her mother lying on the ground beside the kitchen counter, silent and unmoving. The young witch swallowed hard then deliberately forced her spasming fingers open. Her wand dropped from her shaking hand and it rolled away.

"Good pet," cooed the demented witch above her, as she reached to pick up the slender length of vine wood.

"Bellatrix? What do we do with the Muggles?"

"They're going to come with us. This way, Miss Granger will know to keep on behaving herself. Won't you, pet?"

Hermione let her eyes close, unwilling to watch the Death Eaters manhandling her parents. She gasped as someone pulled her by her hair, forcing her to stand. Through the tears streaming down her face, Hermione looked into the brown eye of her captor.

"Greyback, please carry my pet back to the Manor."

Hermione stumbled as Lestrange pushed her towards a man standing by the back door. He grabbed hold of her upper arm in a tight grip, fingernails digging into her flesh. Fire coursed through her body as her nerves fired, still overstimulated from the curse. Her moan made the Death Eaters laugh, and Greyback pushed his face near her own.

"I like to hear you moan, girl. I wonder if I could make you scream."

Hermione tried to pull away, but the werewolf was too strong and moving was too painful.

"Let's go," Lestrange said. "I want to show off my new pet to our Lord."

The mad witch pointed her wand at the skies and a jet of green flew into the cloudy skies. The skull-and-snake symbol that was the Dark Mark imprinted upon the sky. It was the last thing Hermione saw as Greyback Apparated away with her along.

The young witch stumbled and fell to the ground gasping as the werewolf appeared wherever it was they now were. The fall inflamed the effect of the curse once more, and Hermione stayed on the ground, trembling and whimpering softly. There was only silence all around, and Hermione was afraid to look around. Afraid that she would see exactly what she feared. The Gryffindor witch bit on her bottom lip and kept her eyes closed. Maybe if she didn't look, it would be real.

"What do you have here, Bella?"

"I have a new pet mudblood, my lord."

Lestrange sounded just like a toddler with a new toy, and Hermione had to swallow hard against the bile rising in her throat.

"One should not bring strays home without permission, Bella," the monster chuckled.

"I think you will like this one, my lord. It's Potter's."

And just like a child showing off a new toy, Lestrange shoved Hermione under the nose of Voldemort. The younger witch stumbled and fell, bringing a round of sound laughter out of the gathered Death Eaters. The tip of a wand slid under Hermione's chin and pressed up, and the Gryffindor gritted her teeth and raised her head. A detached part of her brain told Hermione that although Harry's description had been fairly accurate, something about the fear those red eyes and non-existent nose could inspire had been lost in the telling.

"Indeed, Bella. I think you have done a marvelous job."

Two thumps sounded right behind Hermione, and the witch startled but didn't turn. Voldemort was no doubt the most dangerous of the lot. Better to keep him in her sights…

"And what's this?"

"The filth that birthed my pet. I'm told that a pup should not be separated from its parents until they are of age. Because it could cause them distress."

Voldemort laughed outright, his red gaze fixed directly on her, and Hermione gritted her teeth as her hands curled into tight fists by her sides. She reminded herself was discretion was the better part of valor. Dying right this minute would not help her parents.

"Do you know who I am, girl?"

"I do," Hermione replied, her voice growly from the strain of the curse on her vocal cords. "Though you go by many names. One, you'd kill me for uttering. One, your followers would take offense to me using. Another, I simply refuse to use."

Voldemort chuckled slightly. Then he pointed his wand squarely at Hermione's chest.

" _Crucio._ "

Pain zinged through her limbs, and Hermione screamed and fell, twisting and shaking on the floor. And they laughed as the curse pressed upon her, white-hot agony dancing along her nervous system, tormenting her until nothing else existed but misery. Hermione lost track of time and space, shuddering on the floor, as wave after wave of pain rushed through her body. Her vision blurred and red spots danced across her field of view. The last thought that crossed her mind was that death could not come soon enough.

#

Hermione coughed violently, and choked on a shout as white fire rushed down her spine, the pain ebbing and across her limbs. She tasted blood in her mouth, and her vision dimmed for a moment. The young witch let her eyes close, hoping against hope.

"There you are, my pet."

Hermione sobbed once as she recognized the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange.

"You know, the Dark Lord was rather disappointed when you skipped out on the fun. But you have been useful to my lord, and he has rewarded me by letting me keep you."

The mad witch petted Hermione on the head forcefully, and the young woman moaned as the movement reawakened the after-shocks of the Cruciatus curse.

"The Dark Lord told me that he was proud of me."

The delighted giggle that followed this announcement drew Hermione's gaze, and the Gryffindor stared at the reverent look on Lestrange's face with fearful disbelief.

"My lord decided that I would go to the Ministry, when the time comes. And though Lucius will be leading our little group because he knows the terrain better, I get to kill your little weasel friend."

Hermione gritted her teeth and tried to push herself to a standing position. But she had barely planted her hands to the floor that Lestrange kicked them from under her, sending her sprawling to the floor once more.

"My lord said that you belong to me now."

Hermione swallowed the cuss word that threatened to pass her lips and made another attempt at standing. She made it to her hands and knees, huffing and puffing against the pain signals that traveled the length of her body. Above her, Lestrange laughed.

"Come on, little pet. You can do it."

Hermione growled her defiance, her arms trembling beneath her weight. She was tempted to let go, just because the witch said to carry on. But Hermione dragged one foot beneath her. With a deep breath, she pushed herself to a standing position, leaning against the wall behind her for additional strength.

"There you go, my pet," Lestrange smiled.

And Hermione glared at her.

"What do you want?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that, pet. The Dark Lord has already got what he needed from you. The memory of you being tortured at his wand tip is going to allow us to lure Potter to the Ministry of Magic. There, he will retrieve the Prophecy that concerns my lord. And my lord will learn how to defeat your precious Order once and for all."

"You'll never get past Dumbledore."

"You're forgetting that your Headmaster has been chased out of office by the Ministry. He's in hiding. What can he do to stop us now?"

Hermione swallowed as she felt her throat go dry. She leaned more heavily against the wall. At the back of her mind, she noted that Bellatrix Lestrange - a little crazy or a lot - was an exceptionally gifted actress. It wasn't everyone who could act so deranged one moment, and so very nearly sane the next. The Gryffindor witch let her head fall forward, trying to gather her senses. Pain came and went in sharp bursts all over her body, stopping her from concentrating on her situation long enough to come up with a plan.

"What about me?"

"Like I said. You belong to me, now. You are my pet mudblood."

"I am not _yours_ anything."

The laugh that left the older witch was chilling in its darkness.

"But you are, witchling. However, I did not have much use for the filth you came from."

Hermione froze then.

"What the hell did you do?"

Lestrange chuckled, as if the profanity delighted her.

"Your father rolled around in his filth as we were having our fun. And your mother moaned like the whore she was while my brothers were having their turns with her. She begged and screamed to the heavens for more."

Hermione couldn't move for a minute. But then the rage took over and she screamed as she launched herself at her tormentor. But she was to weak, and Lestrange simply side-stepped the attack, laughing all the while as Hermione ended sprawled on the filthy stones, crying.

"Oh, little mudblood. Do you feel jealous of the bitch who birthed you? You really shouldn't."

The young witch heard the sounds of booted feet on flagstones. And she suddenly knew exactly what was going to happen. Lestrange grabbed a chunk of her hair, pulling her head up to face the door of her cell as several Death Eaters entered.

"You see? My lord says it's nice to share my toys with my brothers."

Hermione swallowed hard and wished for death. But it would not come.

#

The memory came unbidden. The summer preceding her eleventh birthday, her parents had surprised her with a vacation to Sicily. Magic at that time was still the stuff of fantasy and dreams, something that could not possibly exist but was a nice thought anyway. Her parents had known that the following summer would be busy. Their practice would be expanding, and they would not have the time for holidaying as they usually did. They also knew that year would see Hermione going to high school. They had then decided that rather than not do anything due to time and commitment issues, they would simply celebrate a year early. And so, John and Jane Granger had quietly booked flights and hotels, and spent the summer with their daughter touring the largest island of the Mediterranean. They had visited the cathedral and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, taken a walk around Mount Etna, spent days relaxing by sandy beaches, and visited several vineyards where her father had sneaked her a sip or two from his glass – her first taste of wine.

It was that last image that had entered her mind. Because the sensations she felt now were somewhat similar. She had floated on her back in the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. And she floated now in a sea of green light, warmth surrounding her as it has then. She couldn't feel the pain anymore. And as she lifted a hand in front of her eyes, she found no trace of her blood on her skin. No open, bleeding wounds either. It was puzzling, to say the least. But Hermione was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She let her hand drop back beside her and closed her eyes. She breathed slowly. Maybe this was death.

"I'm afraid not, little one."

Hermione frowned, her eyes still closed. She supposed it would have been too good for the Death Eaters to be left out of his dreams. At least, it wasn't Greyback. Or Rookwood. Or any of the others. She was pretty sure she would recognize the voices of her rapists anywhere now.

"What should I call you then?"

"My name is Sephiroth."

Now Hermione opened her eyes. Sure, the purebloods had some strange naming traditions. But usually the names came from Latin or Celt traditions. Not from the Hebraic lore.

"So you are an attribute of the divine?"

The silver haired man smirked. "So I've been led to believe. But you should not be here, little one."

Hermione looked around her, the darkness illuminated by the flow of green light.

"I assume that this is not Death."

"No."

"Pity," Hermione sighed as she closed her eyes once more. But she was still a know-it-all. "What is this place?"

"This is the Lifestream."

"Lifestream?"

The man hummed for a moment, obviously looking for the best words.

"Every living thing on the planet is connected. Because everything is born of the Lifestream. And everything comes back here, eventually. Although never while still in their physical form."

"Ah! So I'm special," Hermione laughed without humor.

"It would appear so."

Silence descended between the two. It was strangely restful to the witch. She couldn't exactly remember how long it had been since she'd been kidnapped. She knew she had tried counting at first. But the light of the sun had not once penetrated the dungeons where she was kept. And her guards had taken to bring food and water at widely different intervals. When they even remembered to do so. Although they always seem to remember the other use they had found for her.

Something tingled at the back of Hermione's mind. Something that had been said. Several somethings actually. She tried not to care. To care was to feel. And numbness had become a far more preferable alternative to her now. But she could not get rid of the persisting sensation.

"You said this isn't death."

"Not to you, it appears. Or at least, not at this moment in time."

"Then what is this?"

Sephiroth went quiet for moment, and Hermione had the distinct impression that this was the most words he had spoken in a very long time - far longer than his rather youthful appearance suggested.

"The will of the planet is often shrouded in mysteries. But I would guess that this is an opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Hermione repeated. "For what? And for whom?"

"Depends. For you. For me. Both of us even, maybe. As for what, I think it depends on what you want to do."

"I want to die without having to go back to the Death Eaters."

Sephiroth hummed but said nothing else. Hermione closed her eyes. The color of the Lifestream reminded her too much of that of the Killing Curse. She'd cast the curse. The Death Eaters had brought a little girl back. Hermione chose to spare the girl the best way she could. At the first opportunity she could create, she'd snatched a wand, _avada_ 'd the child, and taken the rapes and _crucio_ s that would have been hers. She was already broken. At least the girl had gotten to die with what was left of her innocence. Yes… Green as the Killing Curse… Green as the Lifestream… And green as Harry's eyes.

"Harry!" Hermione's eye snapped open.

"Who is Harry?"

"My friend," Hermione groaned. "They were planning to use me against him."

"They have," Sephiroth said.

Hermione's head turned so she could look at the man beside her straight on. She noted that his own eyes were green, the exact same shade as Harry's and the Lifestream. A wave of his black-clad hand had a swirl of the Lifestream crystallized into a screen.

Let's watch TV, Dad! I need to catch up on the X-Files. Have Mulder and Scully finally gotten to kiss?

Hermione shook the incongruous thought from her head. She watched as images appeared on the screen. Her friends running to the Headmaster when she didn't return from the half-term break. Their worries at the lack of news. The smirks and taunts of the Slytherins. The OWLs. Harry's vision of her torture, the memory somehow modified to show her in the Department of Mysteries, deep in the bowels of the Ministry for Magic. The fight. The loss of a prophecy as Lucius Malfoy snatched the orb before he Disapparated away. Harry's continued grief over her disappearance.

"He doesn't deserve that," the witch said through gritted teeth.

Sephiroth glanced sideways at her.

"I am far from the nicest of men. In fact, you would definitely qualify me as a Dark wizard. I would however say that you did not deserve what happened to you either."

"And how would you know what happened to me?"

Sephiroth waved vaguely at the screen in front of them.

"I am a… spirit, for lack of a better word. I cannot directly interact with the physical world. However, the Lifestream will provide for my desires. I desired to learn more about you. It obliged me."

The silver-haired man now turned to face the witch.

"Your world is on the brink. And I wish to feel once more. I would lend you my strength if you would lend me your body."

"I'm sorry?"

Sephiroth smirked and turned once more to the screen. More images started to flicker on it as the man spoke.

"Once upon a time, I was SOLDIER. The elite fighting force of Shinra. But one day, I discovered what I really was worth to some of them. What they had sought to create through me. I obliged them and became the monster they wanted me to be."

Hermione watched the burning of Nibelheim with nary an emotion showing on her face. And Sephiroth smiled.

"Would I change any of it? No. I would fight Genesis again. I would become the Nightmare once more. And I would have Cloud stop me as he did. But your story is not yet written."

Now the witch turned her head slightly to look at Sephiroth as the man stepped away from the screen.

"Are you seeking redemption through me?"

"No. As I said, I would not change my story. I was not strong enough to defeat Cloud. And I needed to learn that lesson. Although Cloud was the only one with the physical strength and the mental fortitude to withstand me, he never fought me alone."

"Then what is it you want?"

"I want to present you with the opportunity to take your revenge."

He extended a hand in front of him, and a long sword shimmered into existence amidst green swirling light.

"This is Masamune. It is more than just my sword. It is an extension of me. If you accept my offer, I will give you my strength, my knowledge, my skills, my powers, everything that is me."

With practiced ease, Sephiroth reversed the grip on his weapon before extending it to Hermione, handle first.

"Why would you help me?"

"Because I have more to learn. And I think that you and your friends will teach me what I lack."

Hermione looked back at the screen. She had seen a lot of what that man was capable. He was ruthless, a killing machine, malicious to a fault. And yet, he had once been good, and fighting for justice.

"If this is not redemption, then what is it?"

"As I said, Hermione. This is my opportunity to learn what I need to."

Hermione sighed. For all her hesitations, she had already chosen. And so she took up the sword. And her body was washed away in the sea of the Lifestream.

#

Hermione came to in the dark, lying on her back beneath a ceiling of rock.

 _Where am I?_

 **London. Beneath Gringotts to be a bit more precise.**

 _Sephiroth?_ Hermione thought, startled.

 **Yes. It will be somewhat of an adjustment for both of us.**

The witch made to move but cried out and stopped immediately. Her limbs were twitching, as they always did in the aftermath of being exposed to the Cruciatus.

 _What_ _'_ _s going on?_

 **I used my brand of magic to get you out of Malfoy Manor. The Death Eaters seemed unhappy to watch you disappear from their midst.**

Hermione snorted, and even the pain it caused her was not enough to stop her from enjoying that thought.

 **I went searching for more.**

 _More what?_

 **Knowledge. Power. Sifting through the Lifestream for this is never easy, but it can pay some nice dividends for us. Sadly, this is something I will now not be able to do anymore.**

 _Why?_

 **Because my spirit is now anchored within your body. Until you die, I cannot access the Lifestream directly anymore.**

 _And indirectly?_

 **That I can. It** **'** **s how I got you out of the manor. It's how I use my own brand of magic.**

 _Your brand of magic?_

 **The power of the Lifestream was condensed and injected into me while I was still in my mother** **'** **s womb.**

 _That_ _'_ _s how you can use the Lifestream._

 **Yes. Now get up.**

Hermione groaned but she rolled on her side. She wasn't even surprised to find that she still held Masamune in her right hand. The sharp edges of the rock beneath her dug painfully into her exposed skin, and she realized she was quite naked.

 **Wait.**

Hermione stopped moving, frowning. She felt something moved beneath her skin. Warmth grew slowly in the pit of her stomach and spread to the rest of her. It was both similar and alien to the feeling she got when casting with her wand. She felt her own magic rise with the feeling, pulling in the opposite direction. The tension between the two forces within her was enough to make Hermione moan, feeling light-headed. Finally, green light shimmered into existence, swirling around Hermione and coalescing onto her skin. When the light faded, she was dressed in loose, navy blue trousers, along with a woolen, sleeveless top of the same color. A large belt of brown leather cinched her waist and straps of leather connected the belt to rounded silver shoulder guards. Black, heavy-duty boots coming up to mid-calf and short leather gloves completed the look.

 **You are now SOLDIER, Third Class. We** **'** **ll see if you are deserving of advancing further.**

Hermione frowned as the fatigued quality in Sephiroth's voice.

 _Are you all right?_

 **It would appear that using my brand of magic will be somewhat harder to do as well.**

 _You mean, while you_ _'_ _re riding in my brain._

 **Yes,** Sephiroth huffed.

His voice sounded… Weak was definitely the wrong word. But maybe distant, or tired.

 **I will rest for now. You should re-introduce yourself to your body. You will notice changes. I** **'** **m afraid it was inevitable. And for now, I want you to practice rule number three.**

 _Rule number three? What_ _'_ _s that?_

 **Conserve your strength.**

Hermione shivered as she felt Sephiroth's presence fade from her mind. But she could still feel him, somewhat. It was as if he had curled up into a little ball, nestled safely within her mind. With a little groan, she rolled her shoulders back and forth. Zings of pain shot up and down her arms and back. The young witch folded herself into a sitting position on the rocky ground before she let her gaze wander around her.

Flickering fire light was shining from one side of the cave. On the opposite side, a small trickle of water seeped through the rock, pooling into a little pond. And now that she could concentrate on her surroundings somewhat, she could hear the rumble of carts flying up and down the tracks now and then. She wasn't sure how she would explain her presence here to the Goblins. She would just have to hope they would be reasonable. She hadn't chosen to end up here. If anything, it was the Death Eaters' fault.

The thought of the dark wizards brought Hermione back to her situation. She was an orphan now. Just like Harry. And her friends probably thought she was long dead. She had no wand. But she had a sword. Hermione brought Masamune in front of her. The blade sang as it moved through the air. And although it was made of a different magic, the young witch could feel the power emanating from the blade. And along with that weapon, she had the general who had once wielded it into battle.

Sephiroth was most definitely a dark wizard. As long as you defined a wizard as any man who could wield some kind of magic. He had been created to fight, designed to have enhanced strength and speed, and powers beyond the imagination of mortal men. He had done as he was bid, wielding his blade in service of his creators. But soon Sephiroth found they had betrayed him from the very beginning. They had killed his birth mother, and hidden away the one who had shared her cells with him. And he had rampaged through his world to find her. Twice.

Time passed. It still seemed to have little meaning for Hermione. Thirst eventually made her move to the pond. Placing Masamune delicately on the ground next to her, she took her new gloves off and cupped her hands in the water. It tasted fresh, and a far cry better than what she had been given at Malfoy Manor. Once finished, she stayed kneeling by the pond, watching her reflection. Her hair was longer than she ever remembered it being, and it was a lot less frizzy, the curls both looser and more defined than they used to be. Her natural brown locks were now liberally streaked with a silver gray she could see was a perfect match to Sephiroth's own hair color. The other glaring change was her face. A long scar ran diagonally down the left side of her face, starting near her hairline and cutting across her eye before stopping just below her cheekbone. It was still red, and now that she thought about still hurting too. But then again, it was rather recent… Her left eye had lost his natural brown color. Instead, it now shone the same green as Harry's and Sephiroth's.

Closing her eyes, she remembered how she had acquired the wound. The Death Eaters had taken a young Muggle family. They had raped the mother in front of her husband and their young daughter. When the mother had passed out, they had revived her and tortured the father to death in front of her before they'd finished her off. The daughter had been crying through it all, and Hermione had done her best to stay between the girl and the gruesome spectacle, all the while screaming her rage and hopelessness at their abusers. Greyback had taken offense when she had cast aspersions on his virility. He'd backhanded her, his claw-like nails raking across her face. She'd fallen to the ground and away from the girl. The child's sudden shrill screams had snapped the chains of her control and Hermione had launched herself at the werewolf, bitten his hand, and she had picked up his wand and cast the Killing Curse at the girl before any of the others had had the chance to react. Voldemort's Cruciatus had cut her down before she had the time to turn the wand on herself. But Hermione had laughed hysterically through the punishment that followed, continuously taunting Greyback even as he ripped the clothes from her body and very nearly strangled her as he took his pleasure.

Hermione jerked her head sideways, trying to dislodge the memories from her mind. Finally, she pushed herself back to her feet. Her muscles twinged, but the protest was rather muted. Hermione wasn't sure whether it was because she was growing used to it or because her body was now healing. With a shrug, the young witch put her gloves back on and picked Masamune off the floor. The sword gleamed even in the low light of the cave. Hermione knew just enough about bladed weapon to recognize the design as being Japanese. Although the blade was longer than any image she had ever seen. The size of the sword alone was daunting - the weapon was taller than she was for Merlin's sake. And while the tall Sephiroth may wield it easily, Hermione would certainly have troubles. The very strange fact was that the sword was very light for its size. The witch knew that it was a characteristic of Japanese weapons compared to European blades: the Japanese had long ago developed alloys and smelting and forging techniques to make their weapons lighter and more durable.

 **What are you doing?**

"Ah, someone's awake."

 **I was not really asleep, little one. And you do not need to speak out loud.**

"It makes me feel better, Sephiroth. And to answer your first query, I'm going to get us out of this cave. I will need food before too long."

 **Fair enough. Do you intend to keep Masamune?**

"Did you not lend it to me? I'm not going to leave it here, you know."

 **But maybe you will want to make it so you can carry the weapon.**

"And how do I do that, oh great general?"

 **Concentrate. Visualize your SOLDIER weapon.**

Even as Sephiroth spoke, the image of a shorter, slightly broader, and double-edged sword popped into her mind. Hermione focused onto the image and she felt the warmth rise from her stomach, her own magic once more coming to the fore to match Sephiroth's. This time, Hermione controlled it, shaping it to push along with the General's efforts rather than working against him. Masamune shimmered within the green light of the Lifestream for a moment before it shifted shape to match that of the basic weapon of SOLDIERs.

 **Well done, Hermione.**

"You sound better this time."

 **Maybe because you made your magic help mine.**

Hermione shrugged.

 **The harness you** **'** **re wearing has a powerful magnet just between your shoulder blades. It can be used to fix your sword on there, to keep it out of the way.**

Hermione place the weapon behind her, smiling as she felt the pull then heard the click of the magnet against the blade.

"What now?"

 **That** **'** **s up to you, Hermione. This is your world. Do you intend to save it?**

Hermione gritted her teeth, the visions of two pairs of eyes flitting across her mind: one pair red, cold, and snake-like; the other green, sad, and yet full of life.

"Yes!"

 **Well then, I suggest you continue with your initial idea. Get us out of this cave and assess our situation.**

Hermione couldn't help but smile as Sephiroth included himself in the conversation. Although, since he was now stuck with her — literally — it was rather impossible for him not to. And so Hermione started on her way back to the wizarding world.


	2. To Survive the End of Your World

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

#

CHAPTER TWO

To Survive the End of Your World

Getting out of the cave was far easier than Hermione would have expected. Using the strange combination of her magic and Sephiroth's, the two of them were able to sense both the goblins movements within the network of caves and the quickest way out that would take Hermione away from sites such as the Ministry for Magic and Diagon Alley. The walk was rather long but it kept Hermione's mind occupied and she was grateful for it. She stumbled along, often leaning against a wall for support. The damp and smelly darkness of the sewer system was barely noticed by the young witch. They ended up emerging from underground in the woods just north of Waltham Forest Borough.

"I live nearby," was Hermione's first comment.

But she stood rooted in place as she studied the trees around her. She remembered that she had gone out several times during the Easter holidays, amazed that the spring season had been so late this year. She had watched the birds building their nests, and the first buds burgeon on the trees. Now, summer was coming into its own. Even though the sun was low on the horizon, it was warm and birds and crickets sang in harmony in the evening air.

Hermione forced herself to step to a large oak and leaned against the tree. She let herself slide down along the trunk, unconcerned as the bark rubbed roughly against her bare upper arms and shoulders. Her hands were shaking. And everything seemed too bright and shimmery.

 _Sephiroth?_

 **It** **'** **s Mako poisoning. You are suffering from a delayed reaction, it appears. As I mentioned before, the Lifestream is not a place physical forms should visit. Only spirits.**

Hermione groaned softly, the vertigo leaving her feeling like she was about to tip head over heels and right over the edge of the world. The sensation was even worse with her eyes closed, but she couldn't seem to keep them open.

 **Your body needs to recuperate. Sleep is the best thing for you right now.**

 _But I_ _'_ _m in the middle of the forest._

 **Not to worry. I will look after you.**

The warmth of Sephiroth's mind within her own was strange — not only because it was still a very new occurrence, but also because she was pretty sure this was not how the SOLDIER was used to act. He was hesitant and brusque all at the same time, not at all like someone who was used to offer comfort. But Hermione decided not to look at a gift horse's mouth for once. And she simply went to sleep.

The following morning found Hermione waking up with a scream, images from her nightmares fading with the too-bright morning light even as she could feel unwelcome touches over her skin. The young woman barely managed to sit up and turn away as she threw up in the grass by the oak tree. Hermione took quick stock of her physical condition and found she was in just as bad a state as before. Her hands and legs trembled violently as she tried to push herself first into a kneeling position then into a standing one. She ended up sprawled over the ground several times but persevered.

 **You need to move.**

 _Why?_

 **You can** **'** **t stay here. You will need food. And shelter. Somewhere safer than simply under the stars to sleep.**

Hermione blinked slowly twice, trying to gather her wits about her.

 _My house is near,_ she finally thought at Sephiroth.

 **It** **'** **s the first place the Death Eaters will be looking at,** the SOLDIER replied. **They will not want you to remain out of their grasp for long. You are an essential witness to the return of their Lord. They will not let you get away. Not alive, in any case.**

Hermione let herself fall back onto the forest ground.

 _Let me be, Sephiroth. Why should I live when my parents died?_

The SOLDIER said nothing for a while. And Hermione remained on the ground, leaning back against the tree and closing her eyes. Tremors still spread through her limbs and tears slowly trickled down her face.

 **Angeal once said that revenge was one of the motivations of a monster** **…**

Hermione blinked her eyes open, more tears escaping her.

 **I disagree,** Sephiroth continued. **Or rather I think that it can be a motivator for a hero too. Cloud wanted revenge for Aerith** **'** **s death, once upon a time.**

 _And look what_ _'_ _s that got him. A sword through the chest and a friend who was still dead._

The young witch wasn't sure how she even knew that, but it didn't make much of a difference at the moment.

 **Well** **…** **He beat me in the end, didn't he? And he made a good life with Tifa. She had to repeatedly smack him on the upside of the head to get him to see sense, but it worked. I would hope you'd get it faster though.**

Hermione's tears still fell, unchecked.

 **Will you not aid your brother in his plight? Will you let him perish? Rejoin the Lifestream without ever learning the true meaning of peace? The true meaning of love?**

Hermione gasped as Sephiroth forced images of Harry within her mind. Her leather gloves crackled and squeaked as her fists tightened.

 **Will you let him fall without lending him your wing?**

Hermione gritted her teeth.

 _No._

 **Then is your way forward not clear? Will you not avenge your parents** **'** **deaths? Will you not put your enemies through the suffering they have inflicted upon you? Will you not protect your brother from his enemies as well as your own?**

With a growl, Hermione pushed herself to her feet. Her balance was shaky at best, but she managed by leaning heavily against the oak tree that had supported her through the night. And in the shade of the trees, her eyes glowed with the brightness of the Lifestream.

 _They will pay for what they_ _'_ _ve done. And I will protect Harry. With my life if I must._

Sephiroth said nothing else, returning to the confines of Hermione's mind for now. As Hermione attempted a step, she found that her legs did not have the strength to carry her. She fell heavily onto the forest floor. Exhausted, she fell into a dreamless sleep.

#

Hermione woke a few hours later and managed to make her way through the forest. Night was already falling across London by the time she reached the edge of the trees. She had managed to find enough strength that the last half of her trip had been made on her feet rather than on her belly.

 **Where are we going, Hermione?**

 _Well_ _…_ _Nice to know you're still around._

 **I don** **'** **t intend to leave anytime soon, Hermione.**

The young witch could not help but feel rather reassured at that.

 _To answer your previous question, we_ _'_ _re still going to my house. And before you say anything about how dangerous it is, I don't intend to stay there. I just want to swing by the place to see if I can get us some supplies._

 **Fair enough. But it will most probably be under surveillance.**

 _And this is when we find out just how good our combined magics are._

The two of them made their way through the streets of Chingford, one within the mind of the other. But a young woman alone, after dark, and in London, was never the safest.

"Hello there, pretty lady."

Hermione turned to see two men standing just inside an alleyway.

"Got the time?" the first man continued as he scratched at his unkept beard.

"No. Sorry."

Hermione took a step back and made to turn only to gasp as the second man grabbed her wrist. She hadn't seen him move behind her, focused as she was on the one who was speaking.

"Come on, girl. I'm sure we could have a lot of fun, the three of us."

Hermione froze, eyes wide. And the men chuckled darkly as they pulled and pushed her towards the dark side alley.

 **Hermione, snap out of it.**

The young witch blinked and trembled.

 **Use your magic.**

Everything was cold. And it made it hard. Hard to fight. Hard to move. Hard to think. Hard to feel.

 **Snap out of it. Blast them.**

But she couldn't. Darkness edged against her mind and her vision, even as a phantom fist tightened around her heart.

 **Hermione!**

The young witch felt her mind slip away. But then, something happened. Her vision cleared. Breath flooded her lungs. And her fist launched forward and straight into the throat of one of her assailants. The girl wanted to blink. Or frown. Or gape. Anything to express her surprise in a physical way. But she found she no longer had control of her body.

 **"** **Let's see how well you dance when faced with your superior."**

And that wasn't her voice. But it was. Hermione watched as if from just outside her body as she kicked the second man to the floor, making he stayed down with a well-placed kick to the head. The other one didn't stick around, obviously preferring his prey easy. He ran off in the opposite direction.

 **Hermione?**

But the witch didn't answer. And she just watched as Sephiroth straightened her clothes for her, wiping the blood from her bruised and cut knuckles.

 **"** **Show me where the house is, Hermione."**

The witch wasn't quite sure why Sephiroth had spoken aloud. But the memory came unbidden to the fore. With a sigh, Sephiroth studied their surroundings, situating himself. He then set off. It took another hour to get there. But the burned out shell they found was not what Hermione had expected. At that moment, the young witch wrested control back from Sephiroth. And her scream of rage and pain echoed in the darkened street.

 **Hermione. Stop!**

But the young witch could not and Sephiroth wrestled control of her body back from Hermione so they could escape the scrutiny of her neighbors and whoever else might have been around. Hermione spent the following day mourning for everything she had lost.

#

Hermione looked over the streets of Greater London, sitting on the roof of her neighbors' house. Not knowing where else to go, Hermione had returned to her childhood home. She had known it wouldn't be the same. But she hadn't expected the charred remains of the house to affect her as much. It had taken all of Sephiroth's power of persuasion to get her to move away from the ruins of her house before anyone could spot her. The two of them had watched as the Death Eaters had appeared a few days later, obviously still looking for her. Later that day, Professor McGonagall had come. Hermione had very nearly given in and rushed to the witch who had become a mother figure as well as her mentor in the wizarding world. Sephiroth had said nothing, but Hermione had controlled the urge in the end. Right now, there was very little her Transfiguration teacher could do for her. A few days later, the older witch had returned, accompanied this time by Professor Snape. She had watched as the two of them had traced the air with their wands.

 **Care to explain what they are doing?** had asked Sephiroth.

 _I think they_ _'_ _re trying to find me._

The SOLDIER general had laughed.

 **I would wish them good luck, but I find myself rooting for us.**

 _Shouldn_ _'_ _t we hide or something?_ Hermione has said rather testily.

 **No. I am not entirely sure how magic works in your world but I feel rather certain that whatever spell they decide to use to find you will not work. After all, you** **'** **re not just you anymore.**

And sure enough, the tracking spells of her professors had failed to indicate to them that she was sitting a mere fifty meters away. No one else had come looking. She wasn't entirely surprised that her friends hadn't come. They either didn't know she had escaped, or simply couldn't escape the attention of their parents. According to Sephiroth, the two professors had been the only ones to investigate her disappearances in the first place. When Snape had told the rest of the Order of the Phoenix just where she was, they had stopped looking. Professor McGonagall had raged against Dumbledore, but the Headmaster had refused to risk a rescue. They could only assume that Snape had learned about her escape and relayed the message to McGonagall. And now, Hermione sat in the cooling evening air, pondering her next steps.

 **Is there a way to confirm that the Trace you told me about has been removed?** Sephiroth asked. **Or at least that it** **'** **s not working as well as it should?**

 _Not without a wand,_ Hermione replied. _I know we_ _'_ _ve used magic to get around and get food. But always your magic was mixed along with mine. To be certain, we'd need to get a wand for me to cast properly._

 **Won** **'** **t you need a wand anyway? You're still intending to go back to Hogwarts, aren't you?**

 _Most definitely. Only, I have no money._

 **Let** **'** **s get back,** Sephiroth finally said.

Hermione stood and after a short run up jumped from the roof to the nearby oak tree. She jumped down from branch to branch, before letting herself drop the last ten meters to the ground. She walked nonchalantly down the street, quietly certain that no one in the neighborhood would actually recognize her even if they saw her. Her hair remained liberally streaked with Sephiroth's own silver and the frizz seemed to have been tamed by the lanky texture of his hair too. Her 'damaged' eye remained a bright green rather than the dark hazel of its counterpart. And Hermione knew that both seemed to glow: one green; the other gold. It wasn't always apparent in daylight, but it could be scary in the dark. The scar down the left side of her face had faded away slightly, losing the redness as her skin repaired itself. It was still obvious to anyone looking, the lighter color and somewhat shimmery look of the healed wound not quite blending with the rest of her face. And although she had not noticed when she woke in the cave, she was also slightly taller — as well as slimmer — than she used to be.

Hermione made her way through the borough, returning to the largest of the nearby parks. She had used Sephiroth's expertise and survival training to create a somewhat crude shelter for herself in a copse of trees. She was well hidden from the Muggles, although she took pains not to let anyone follow her anyway. Wizardkind didn't seem to be much of a problem right now. She had scavenged some cardboard boxes to use as a mattress and wrapped some plastic bags around them to keep them from getting too wet. After swallowing her pride, she had also gone to a nearby shelter to beg a few blankets off them. Better have the real thing than risk whatever object she tried to transfigure while wandless turn back in the middle of the night. She had refused more than that though, and had disappeared before they could even think about getting social services involved.

 **Do you have an account at that Gringotts place?**

 _Yes. My parents insisted. I know they_ _'_ _ve been depositing my pocket money in there. But I don't think there's that much in there. Besides, the key to it was in the house. Not sure how I would get access without it._

 **We could break in. We have before, after all.**

 _Yes. But I_ _'_ _d rather not make enemies of the goblins. I would also prefer to stay on the right side of the law, at least until the law and the Ministry prove to be my enemy._

 **Fair enough.**

Hermione got ready for bed. The following morning was spent on basic training once more, as it had been dedicated ever since she had woken up. She still wasn't quite sure just how long had passed — either since she'd been taken or since she'd escaped. She knew she'd been training for about a month now. She wasn't entirely concerned about it though. She couldn't go back until she felt good enough in herself. And she wanted to learn her new limits. Hence the training…

And so, as had become routine for them, Sephiroth and Hermione started by letting their combined minds settle. Hermione put herself through a short job and a few stretching exercises. Then she ran and jumped and tumbled and punched and kicked for three hours. There was no form to this. It was just the simple hand combat system SOLDIER had been teaching their recruits to use as a back up, should they ever lose their weapon. For the two hours after that, Sephiroth let Hermione swished Masamune again and again through the air, striking, feinting, thrusting, parrying, slicing, blocking, hacking, guarding. Sephiroth lent his knowledge and expertise as well as his own muscle memories to make the moves more and more fluent. The nodachi felt unwieldy to Hermione. But the witch pushed through the uncomfortable knowledge as she had done every day.

Already, Hermione felt like she had trained this way for years. Even having never faced off with anyone, she could imagine the moves an opponent could use to counter her attacks and what moves she in turn would use to fight them off. But that morning proved different as gradually, a crowd of people formed around her. There was no panic involved with the sighting of her blade, the locals having grown somewhat acustomed to the sight. Hermione had had to deal with the police a couple of times, but Hermione had proven the weapon harmlessly blunted — though Sephiroth had had to act quickly to make it so — and everyone seemed happy to let her get on with it now. They kept their distance though, mindful of the damage she could still inflict on the unwary, and so Hermione continued with her training. She was still very aware of them. Eventually, she had to stop as her arms and legs burned from the strain and sweat dripped steadily down her back. She startled slightly as the crowd clapped slowly and Hermione blinked before she took an awkward half bow.

As the crowd started to disperse, talking and laughing, several of the spectators came forward. Hermione deftly avoided any touch but accepted words of praise. One man, however, approached holding a bottle of water that Hermione took gratefully. The man stood there without saying a word. As Hermione finally drank her fill, she smiled at her benefactor. The man was older, probably in his late thirties or early forties. He had thick black hair and a decidedly Asian look to him. He introduced himself as Lin An with a bow Hermione recognized from the old kung-fu movies her dad had been so fond of.

"You're quite good, you know. Black belt?"

"Err… No, sir. I have no formal training, as such. And I study no particular martial art either."

"You may call me Lin. You learned all that on your own?"

"Oh, no. I have a teacher. Of sorts. He is putting me through combat training, for lack of a better term. And swordsmanship. But I wanted to continue my training…" Hermione half lied.

"Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I go to a private school. But it closed early this year because they needed to repair the roof. It got damaged in the winter storms and it just couldn't wait any longer."

Hermione wasn't quite sure if it was such a good thing that she could now invent a half convincing story on the fly. Something told her it was Sephiroth's influence.

"Well, consider me impressed by both your skills and your dedication. I have been watching you these past few days."

Lin bowed again, and Hermione blinked before she copied the move once more.

"Would you consider joining our group? We train at a local gym, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays."

 **Say yes. You have gone as far as you could on your own. The gym will have equipment you can use to increase your strength. The martial art group will give you invaluable experience of actual combat.**

 _And if their martial art is completely different?_

 **Fighting is fighting. And actually, there is something to be said for the ability to switch seamlessly between fighting styles. You don** **'** **t need to become an expert in everything. But knowing the basics of a variety of things could just give you the advantage you need.**

"I'll be happy to drop by one evening."

"Excellent. How about tonight?"

 _Damn,_ Hermione thought. _I really need to find out the date._

Sephiroth's only answer was a rather sinister chuckle.

"Sure. Do I need anything in particular?"

"Just yourself and your karategi. And maybe, if you enjoy the group, we will be able to ask you to demonstrate your sword skills to the younger students? We do enjoy showing them what can be achieve through dedication."

Hermione smiled and nodded once. Lin gave her a leaflet and left her with a parting wave.

 _Well. Now I definitely need to get hold of my money._

#

AN:

Well, this is something I was not expecting. Sure, I thought I'd get some views. But to get followers, favorites, and even a review? No, that I wasn't expecting. After all, crossovers usually get a lot less readers… So this very early chapter is for (in no particular order) Suzululu4moe, Lune the Twilight Fox, TsukiRoze, authorlouise, kyle parker, , Bigbaz, Crocodylus, RawxEvo, SeraphinaAngel, and dvesto7. Thank you so much for your support guys. As a thank you, I won't make you wait for the next chapter. However, don't expect regular updates. I'm sorry to say real life won't allow for it. Unless one of you guys is looking to co-author a story :)

And Suzululu4moe? I never thought Harry was that special. LOL I do have a reasoning, but I won't bore you guys with it. Feel free to ask though. And Hermione… Well… I don't want to spoil you too much, but let's just say revolution always starts with one person standing up for themselves.


	3. A New Power Unleashed

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

#

CHAPTER THREE

A New Power Unleashed

That afternoon was the first time Hermione thought of the wizarding world in more terms than just abstract thoughts. She had no idea if she had been reported as missing, or if the Death Eaters were still on the lookout for her. It would not do to be recaptured so early in her plans. And so, Hermione bowed to Sephiroth's wisdom and ditched her SOLDIER uniform for the time being. She guided the SOLDIER's magic to help her transfigure a set of nice looking black robes for herself, similar to what she had seen Professor McGonagall wearing throughout her career at Hogwarts although her version also boasted a deep hood. Then she let Sephiroth pull them into the Lifestream and navigate them right into a deserted side alley just off Diagon Alley.

 **You will have to excuse me** **…**

 _It_ _'_ _s fine, Sephiroth,_ Hermione mind-whispered to her guardian angel. _We both knew it would probably happen._

Hermione shivered slightly as the presence of Sephiroth in her mind dulled. Using these extremes of Gaian magics still exhausted the General. But Hermione was pretty sure she would be fine. She had grown accustomed to being exposed to the Lifestream in short doses. She had not experienced any withdrawal symptoms since she had first come back to London. Pulling the hood of her cloak securely over her head, Hermione set off into the main alley. She immediately noted the rather depressing atmosphere that permeated the area. The street was virtually empty, shops had been boarded up, and large posters were stuck on walls everywhere. Wondering what it was all about, Hermione approached one. It showed a picture of Fenrir Greyback. The black-and-white image leered at her. Hermione was tempted to rip it off the wall. But she had no time for childish behaviors. A quick look in a one of the few shops nearby still opened told her today was the twenty-ninth of June. The last weekend of June. And the last couple of days before Hogwarts let out. Determined to get in and out of the wizarding world as quickly as possible and preferably without running into someone who might recognize her, Hermione headed for Gringotts. The tall white building was as imposing as ever. Hermione climbed the steps but was stopped in front of the doors by a wizard. She very nearly fell as she stumbled away from the man's hand. The wizard frowned at her.

"Remove your hood and submit your wand for identification."

Hermione gritted her teeth. But she felt Sephiroth stir within her.

 **Play along.**

The words were soft, barely more than a murmur in her mind. With a roll of her eyes, she pushed back her hood as she scolded her angel.

 _Get back to sleep,_ Hermione whispered within her mind. _We might need your strength again before the end of the day._

"I'm afraid I do not have a wand, sir. This is the reason for my visit to Diagon Alley today. Mine was broken just yesterday."

"State your name."

"Aerith Gainsborough."

The wizard looked her up and down and waved his wand over her several times, presumably attempting to discover if she was under the effects of a spell or potion that altered her appearance. Finally, he stepped aside and let her through, and Hermione sighed in relief. Now if only she could be as confident about her meeting with the goblins. Hermione waited as patiently as she could in the short queue and soon enough found herself in front of a teller.

"Would it be possible to speak with someone with regards to a lost key, please?"

"Name?"

The witch grimaced but didn't look around for fear of attracting even more attention. "Hermione Granger," she whispered.

If the goblin recognized the name, he said nothing. He made a note of her name and pointed her to a seat away from the rest of the customers. She sat and leaned forward, dropping her head so her hair would hide her face. After all, Hermione Granger was too young to have silver-streaked hair. She very nearly laughed when she realized she had copied the mannerism from Professor Snape. Soon enough a goblin came to fetch her and they led her to an empty room, leaving her alone for a while longer. Hermione sat in the visitor seat, determined not to fidget or show any sign of nervousness. Somehow, she had a feeling that though she could not see them, the goblins were watching her. And so she spent the next stretch of time sitting and meditating. Sephiroth had been teaching her to reach for the Lifestream and she practiced this as she waited.

Much like the magic she had been taught in Hogwarts, the Lifestream's power seemed to originate from deep within her — her magical core. But where the spells and potions she had been taught since she was eleven made use of her own energies and those in close contact to whatever she used as a focus, the Lifestream's magical power — that Sephiroth often referred to as Mako energy — came from the Planet itself and the powerful spirits that inhabited it. According to the General, he was far from the only spirit that could be reached through Mako. She just needed to establish an initial contact. So far, she had had no luck. The sudden opening of the door behind her broke her concentration. Hermione stood slowly, watching the goblin standing in the doorway. It-He-She stood there, watching her, studying her. It-He-She appeared old.

"I am Nagnok. I will be dealing with you today."

Well, that answered that question. She definitely recalled that the historical Nagnok — whose death had started a goblin rebellion — had been male.

"I am Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you."

The young witch extended a hand towards the goblin, who looked at it but refused to shake it. Instead, Nagnok made for the other side of the desk and sat. Shrugging, Hermione retook her own seat.

"I'm told you have lost your key."

"Lost may be an exaggeration. I am reasonably certain that my key is either in the ruins of my family home, or in the hands of the Death Eaters. Given I cannot at this moment investigate the matter and I find myself in need of a new wand, I have decided to visit your establishment to remedy the situation."

The goblin made a few notes on the papers spread before him.

"So you are unable to provide us with wand identification."

"I can tell you that my first wand — and the only wand I have ever owned, as a matter of fact — was a vine wand, ten and three-quarters in length, with a dragon heartstring core and vine pattern along the handle."

"Will you submit to blood identification?"

"I will."

The goblin proceeded to place a long piece of parchment onto the desk, along with a sharp silver knife. Hermione remembered the process. When her parents had opened her account, the goblins had gone through all sorts of rituals to establish her claim on this particular vault. When the goblins had mentioned the possibility, her parents had insisted that the Granger name was about to enter the wizarding world for the first time. The goblins had confirmed that Hermione was technically founding a new magical House, having no wizarding relatives within one hundred and eight generations of her according to their records and the blood ritual. And so, her parents had paid to make her new bloodline entirely official, if muddy by pureblood standards. Hermione was kind of grateful for it now.

The young witch never hesitated, picking up the knife, running the blade along her palm, and dripping the ten drops of blood required by the spell onto the parchment. She watched as the blood was soaked up by the paper and lines started to appear. Her full name formed at the bottom and quickly lines linked her to her parents and her ancestors on either side of her family. But what shocked her into silence was the third name sandwiched between her parents'. She blinked a few times. But still, Sephiroth's name remained there.

"I see."

Nagnok's words had Hermione quickly returning her attention on the goblin, fearing the worst. But the goblin was still watching the parchment, even as he took notes on the papers in front of him.

"When did you acquire a guardian?"

"I assume you mean Sephiroth?" Hermione said as she tapped a finger on his name.

"Yes. It will mean a great deal of paperwork, in particular if the bond was established a while back."

"Err… To be completely honest, I have no idea exactly how long it has been. I was taken by the Death Eaters during the Easter holidays. I don't know how long I was with them until I escaped with Sephiroth's help. I would say it was at least four weeks. To be fair, I didn't even know what today's date was until I got to Diagon Alley."

"Good. It has not been so long as to create more problems for me. Can you estimate a more precise date?"

Hermione puffed out a breath.

"I escaped just over two weeks ago. And Sephiroth was able to show me images of my friend Harry fighting in the Ministry with the Death Eaters after it happened and before he helped me out, so…"

"That battle was on the eighteenth of June."

Hermione blinked once as her brain supplied her with the one piece of information she could have done without. Ten weeks. She had spent ten weeks with the Death Eaters, give or take a few days.

 **Breathe.**

Sephiroth's command recalled Hermione to herself. As ordered, she took a deep breath and held it in for a moment. Opposite her, Nagnok busied himself pouring two fingers of an amber liquid in a glass. He set the drink in front of her without a word. Firewhiskey, her brain supplied, good for shock. She downed the liquid in one go, coughing and cringing at both the burning taste and the fact that the goblin could have laced it with just about any poison. The witch shrugged it off as the alcohol spread its warmth throughout her body.

"I have updated your file with us, Miss Granger. Your new classification as a witch and a sorceress is now official. I have also updated your physical description, your lineage, and your magical signature in your file. Will you be required to make a withdrawal?"

"Yes, please," Hermione said as she blinked at the goblin's implications that more or less everything about her had been changed with the coming of Sephiroth into her life. "I need to get myself a new wand and basic supplies for the school year ahead. And I need some Muggle cash too, if at all possible."

"Of course, we can arrange to create one of those plastic cards that will allow you access to your Gringotts account anywhere in the Muggle world. As a matter of interest, your account currently holds 251 galleons, ten sickles, and five knuts, or just over twelve hundreds British pounds."

"That much? How come?"

"It appears that your parents have been making regular deposits into your account until recently."

Hermione swallowed hard and blinked rapidly. Her fists tightened and she felt her nails dig into her palms.

"They were killed by the Death Eaters."

After a brief pause, Nagnok asked, "Would you like me to handle their estates on your behalf?"

Hermione blinked again. She hadn't even thought about that.

"Yes, please. Can you handle their Muggle business as well? I assume it will have to be sold, and then maybe…"

Nagnok held up a clawed hand.

"I will see to it that everything is in order."

"How much is the fee in these situations?" Hermione asked.

"Gringotts will charge two percent of the inherited wealth up to two hundred thousand galleons. The fee drops to one percent after that. This is on top of the inheritance tax imposed by Her Majesty the Queen, and the legacy duty charged by the Ministry for Magic."

"I will double your fee if Gringotts can settle the estate before the end of the summer. I need to concentrate on moving forward with my plans, and it will most probably require money."

"Very well, Miss Granger. Anything else?"

"Nothing that I can think of."

"If you would wait here. I will return shortly with your new key and your money."

True to his word, Nagnok was back within five minutes, and Hermione was on her way, securing her hood once more and wondering what else this day would throw at her.

#

Once back in Diagon Alley, Hermione made straight for the wand shop. Ollivander's was still the best, and she would get the best she could. The bell rang as she opened the door.

"Just a minute," came the voice from the back of the shop.

Hermione took her hood off, knowing that if one person was going to recognize her now, it would be Ollivander.

"My, my, my, Miss Granger. You are one person I did not expect to see today."

Suspicions confirmed, Hermione half smiled at the man before her.

"I find myself in need of a new wand. I'm afraid my original one was lost to my recent encounter with the Death Eaters."

"Ah, yes. Ten and three-quarters, vine, and dragon heartstring. It chose you before you had even set eyes on it."

Hermione smiled at the memory. Her vine wand had glowed so brightly that the light had shown through the box. She'd venture to say it had been one of the quickest matches in Ollivander's career. The young witch blinked the image away as she watched Ollivander regarding her with a rather unsettling intensity.

"But this will no longer be suitable for you, Miss Granger, will it? You have evolved far beyond the basics I supply to most of your fellow students."

Hermione watched as Garrick Ollivander disappeared at the back of his shop. The man came back with a rather large collection of very dusty, very old looking boxes.

"I'm afraid that I am not as familiar with the wands of sorcerers as I am with those of witches and wizards."

Hermione blinked a few times, both wary of Ollivander's perceptive nature and completely unsurprised by it.

"One of my ancestors was lucky enough to be blessed with a guardian, however. And he switched his specialty to concentrate on creating wands that would serve sorcerers who also practiced witchcraft and wizardry."

"And how are those wands different from the ones you produce, Mister Ollivander?"

"Well for starters, Gabrell had amassed a wide variety of exotic woods to work with. He also worked with the woods more traditional to European wand makers, but the exotic woods were his trademark of sorts — even with wands with classical cores. But a sorcery wand differs in the fact that their core is mineral or vegetal, not animal-based — as are most wand cores for witchcraft and wizardry. And having become fascinated with gems and crystals early on, Gabrell used his travels to start his collection."

Hermione looked as Ollivander placed the boxes next to each other's on the worktop. He opened each box in turn.

"As I said, these were not made by me. But I think I can still help you to make the best match."

He started with a crooked, yellow and reddish brown wand.

"Desert ironwood and red jasper, eleven inches in total, brittle but ideal for those minds both courageous and cunning."

Hermione swished the wand and nothing happened. Ollivander smiled and took the crooked wand back, presenting her next with a pale, straight wand.

"Paulownia and amethyst, ten inches, delicate and best suited for divination and protection."

The young witch once more picked the wand, but she wasn't surprised when no flicker of any magic was produced. She hated divination, after all. The third wand — a dark wand made of pistachio wood with an onyx core, built for inner strength and discipline — showed no reaction to Hermione's dual powers either. The tests continued and no wand seemed to react to her. As the pile of unsuitable grew, Hermione became more and more worried and Ollivander more and more happy. The clinging of the door bell broke their concentration for a minute.

"Ah, Miss Walker, isn't it?"

"Yes, Mister Ollivander. I'm afraid that my wand broke yesterday."

"Nine inches, chestnut and unicorn hair, a strange mix of swishy yet brittle. I'm sure we will find you a replacement though. If you would not mind waiting a little while I finish with this young lady."

Hermione threw a look at Ollivander as he once more disappeared through to the back of his shop. But the twinkling of those silver eyes told her he would not reveal her identity. He came back with another armful of boxes.

"Let us see. Ah… Twelve and a quarter inches, macawood and nuummite, unyielding but excellent for those looking to attune themselves to several of the elemental planes."

Hermione picked the wand and a faint glow was produced from the tip.

"Ah, a response at last. I wonder if you would be more attracted to spider jasper or merlinite. Or maybe even…"

Ollivander looked back at the rows of boxed wand behind him, a pensive look on his face.

"Your friend was chosen by an unusual wand, rather unique in a certain aspect. I wonder if you could be the same."

 **Do you know what he** **'** **s talking about?**

 _Nice to hear from you, Sephiroth. And yes, I have an idea. Harry was paired with the brother wand of Voldemort_ _'_ _s. Apparently, they are fated to face each other in battle._

 **Rather poetic, I suppose. Actually, reminds me of** ** _Loveless_** **.**

Hermione didn't question her guardian angel, filing the query for a later date. A sudden rustle behind her sent her senses on high alert. The Walker woman had shifted forward as Ollivander remained away from his counter. The older witch took another step forward and Hermione itched to summon Masamune.

 **You won** **'** **t need it. The foolish woman could not best you if you had both hands tied behind your back.**

Hermione widened her stance as casually as she could. And then the woman rushed towards the pile of incompatible wands. But before Hermione could even strike, the other witch's hands closed on one of the boxes. Two things happened at once, Mako power reacting to the powers present in a bid to protect the Lifestream, Sephiroth would later explain. The boxed wand rejected the thieving witch without said witch even touching the length of wood, and the Lifestream presented Hermione with the wand that was hers, so she could best protect the Planet.

The resulting rush of power was blinding and sent the woman crashing against the opposing wall. Hermione, though she had stumbled back at the sudden magical surge, was quick to get to the woman. She gently pushed the boxed wand away from the fallen witch before unceremoniously picking Walker up and setting her down in the chair set aside for waiting customers. Ropes appeared from thin air, conjured by the sorceress-witch to tie the would-be thief up. She finished the job by gagging her, although the witch was still unconscious.

"Sixteen inches and made of African Blackwood combined with a titanium steel alloy," came Ollivander's eerie voice. "Very unusual because of this metallic presence within the core and the decorations used to bind the silk. It makes for a strong and unyielding wand. Perfect for the warrior facing incredible odds. Yet the wand itself has always had a strangely ethereal feel. According to his journals, my ancestor found a large mineral once. He could not determine what it was, but the magical potential was unmissable. When he tried to harvest it for wand cores, the crystal shattered. It left him with only a few usable shards. One in particular called to him. It was long, slightly curved, and sharp. Oh so very sharp. Through careful study, along with trial and error, Gabrell found that the crystal could be refined by heat treatment, but only when paired with steel along with wood. And once paired, the crystal would not function without its brothers in arm, so to speak. In the end, Gabrell managed to craft a dozen or so wands such as this one. But he considered this one his masterpiece."

 ** _That_** **is a materia, Hermione.**

Hermione blinked at Sephiroth's words.

 _Say again?_

 **You heard. Strangely enough, it appears that this materia has not been attuned to a particular magic, or even to a class. It is similar in feel to a Master Materia. But at the same time, it is not.**

Hermione looked down at the wand now in her hand. It was so very different than any wand she had ever seen. It was flatter, thicker, and wider. While you usually could form a fist around a wand handle and still touch your fingertips to your palm, this wand would make this difficult to most users. And where most wands were more tip and less handle, this one was just sixteen inches of handle. The whole thing was wrapped in a medium-blue silk. The purplish-black color of the wood beneath could still be seen in places. On either ends, a band of silvery metal tipped the silk-covered wood. The 'wand tip' was only recognizable by the flat piece of crafted steel acting as a guard that topped one end. The wand pulsed warmth into her palm in time with Hermione's own heartbeat.

 **There is more to this,** Sephiroth whispered to Hermione.

 _More?_

 **This is a dormant weapon. Like Masasume, who will be summoned to my hand or yours if need be, this weapon is waiting to be called upon.**

 _You mean_ _…_ _to do more than just cast a few spells?_

 **Yes. A blade to be wielded only by those deemed worthy enough** _._

Hermione blinked at Sephiroth's words. And looking at her new wand, she could see the similarities. The handle was just as thick as that of a katana, although somewhat shorter. And the bands of silk did wrap around the handle to form the traditional diamond pattern of Japanese swords. The guard — tsuba, her mind supplied — was decorated with a traditional Chinese dragon.

"Yes, a very strange wand," Ollivander continued, apparently unaware that Hermione's attention had wandered for a long moment. "But it appears, perfectly suited to you. And since your new match has allowed me to keep hold of another wand, I will gladly give you this one for free. My ancestor made a custom wand sheath to go with this piece, so I'll pass that along to you too. It is made of dragon leather, of course, and meant to be worn on your belt."

Hermione blinked and made to speak but Sephiroth beat her to it.

 **Say thank you to the nice man and let** **'** **s go before he has to get people here to deal with the would-be thief.**

"Thank you, sir," Hermione dutifully repeated as she accepted the black leather sheath. "Will you need me to stick around to deal with the Aurors?"

"I'm sure it won't be necessary."

Hermione shrugged, gave a bow to the wand maker and turned to leave. But something stopped her and she turned to look at the bound witch on the chair.

"You know, Mr. Ollivander, times are becoming more and more dangerous."

The man half turned away from his task of putting the incompatible wands away.

"Indeed, they are."

"I would be extremely careful about who comes in your shop. I know for a fact the some of the Death Eaters are missing their wands. And although you are not the only wand maker in the UK, you are the best. And the most knowledgeable."

Ollivander blinked once then smiled.

"I have no doubt the Death Eaters might wish to pay me a visit. Until such a time, I remain at the disposal of my other customers."

Recalling something from the images of the recent battle Sephiroth had shown her, Hermione tilted her head sideways.

"Has Neville Longbottom come to get his new wand yet?"

"Just yesterday, as a matter of fact. The match was a true one."

"Good."

Hermione finally left the shop. Once in Diagon Alley, she took a deep breath and Apparated away. Back in the copse of trees that had served as her home for the past couple of weeks, Hermione studied her new wand. With a sharp flick, she transfigured the flattened carton boxes into a nice, fluffy mattress then waited. After a while and with raised eyebrows at the lack of official reaction, she proceeded to reinforce her protections, charmed the leaves overhead to repel water, and cast several warming charms around the little clearing. She then changed a tree branch into a chair and another into a desk. She conjured parchment and quill out of thin air. She sat to write a statement about what had happened at Ollivander's then charmed the paper to look like an airplane and sent it flying to the wand maker, just in case the Aurors were funny.

 **Well, I guess we now know for sure that the Ministry cannot trace your magic anymore. This is a Muggle spot and you have been using magic for the past hour or so.**

Casting a tempus charm, she noted that she was about to be late for her first martial art lesson. She quickly changed with a flick of her new wand and she quickly left for the nearby leisure center, her wand hidden in its sheath at the small of her back.

#

AN:

I was not expecting that kind of response. I'm so glad everyone seems to enjoy where I'm taking the story. I just hope I don't disappoint! In no particular order, thank you to Hermoine-Sakura-Kagome, Nachtschwalbe, LeonaMasha, Shadowed Novice, unexpected sabotage, Kittyinaz, Djar, bookivore, Falke-ness, MJandSports, Sinsational Sinner, .fisher, LouisKruger, kyle parker, and who have favorited, followed, and/or reviewed this story. I just hope I haven't missed out anyone!

Kittyinaz: I read crossovers all the time too. This is my second one (insert shameless self-promotion here: if you like The X-Files and Charmed, check out Ascending), and I have another two I'm working on from time to time though they're still in the planning stages. And Sephiroth is the best 'good guy turned bad' ever! Across all fandoms, in my humble point of view.

unexpected sabotage: If you want to PM me and tell me which part you found iffy, I'll let you know if the story has more coming. I just don't want you to get caught by surprise.

LeonaMasha: I've written a good half of the story already, I think. Roughly speaking, I have about 45,000 words to edit and publish for you. So there's definitely more to read J


	4. Training In All Its Forms

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

#

CHAPTER FOUR

Training in All Its Forms

Over the next two weeks, Hermione attended every lesson she could. The main form taught to the group was named 'Shotokan Karate'. But she was also learning modern wushu from Lin. Although she started at a white belt level — as every newcomer should — between Sephiroth's memories, her determination, and the combined magics coursing through her body, she learned quickly enough. Hermione spent her days at the nearby playing field, practicing. Her mornings were dedicated to going through the basic exercises required by both disciplines and learning the kata and taolu required to gain the belts and sashes, respectively. She also ran through the SOLDIER drills at this time, Sephiroth teaching her how to use the SOLDIER sword he had made for her. She still preferred Masamune to the broadsword that had been the primary weapon of Thrid and Second Classes. But the overlong blade of the nodachi was far too unwieldy for her, she'd soon found out. In the afternoons, she held several impromptu 'classes', when students joined her on the field after school let out. To their parents' delight, she always walked them back home tired, with their homework started, and ready for food before bed. And to the karate club's joy, several of her students joined at her encouragements. She gave several demonstrations of her sword techniques to the karate students, to everyone's delight.

Through these social interactions, Hermione was slowly re-learning that not every touch was designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain and suffering on her. No one knew the details of her situation but she suspected the adults had noticed that she shied away from touch. She'd reflexively lashed out at a few of them when they'd initiated contact and they'd soon learned to warn her of their intents in small ways. Curiously, the problem was lessened with the children. She'd still startled if they rushed to give her a hug, but had never snapped at them. The older of her 'students' seemed to take their cues from the adults, letting her come to them rather than reach for her. And the young witch was grateful for it.

Eventually, the group leaders met to discuss Hermione's situation. She had told them as much as she was both able and comfortable: she and her parents were attacked and they were now dead; she went to school in Scotland, and had to go back come September first; and she had a master teaching her back at school who would continue to teach his own blend of sword fighting and he would be delighted to learn she had started to learn other martial arts. Although she'd never asked, they'd decided to bend a good many rules so that by the end of that second week, Hermione received her black belt in karate. For his part, Lin decided to award her the red sash. He deemed her to have mastered all the basics, but given the differences between wushu and both karate and the combat training she was receiving from Sephiroth, he wanted to work with her through the advanced techniques for a bit longer.

Hermione's evenings were dedicated to magic. She had spent a good few hours working out the best protections to apply to her small patch under the trees. Eventually, she had turned it into a very comfortable shelter. The leaves and shrubbery repelled water, protecting the witchling beneath from the summer showers. She'd transfigured a wardrobe to go beside her bed and several sets of typically Muggle jeans and t-shirts. Although she'd taken to wear her SOLDIER uniform most of the time, she wore her Muggle clothes if she had to meet with parents.

The witch-sorceress split her time between homework, meditating, and practicing magic. With her new materia wand, she found that accessing Mako-based magic was easier — both with and without her wand in hand. As long as her materia wand was on her person, Hermione could cast a Mako spell. This in turn had given a greater understanding of how to reach for the witchcraft that also flowed through her, and Hermione found that she could cast low-powered wandless spells with ease. Nothing like an Unforgivable, but she could summon her wand from twenty feet, or levitate a rock to strike a target with deadly force across that same distance. Sephiroth wasn't quite sure what to make of the blank materia in her wand. It soon became clear that she could only channel the simplest of Mako spells through it but contrarily to a Gaian materia, she could cast several different spells.

 _Want to run it past me again, Sephiroth? I_ _'_ _m confused._

 **As simply as I can explain, materia were split into five main classes: command, magic, support, independent, and summon.**

 _Okay,_ Hermione nodded. _Magic was the class of combat spells. Summon did just that: summon powerful spirits to help you in battle. And the other three classes offered a mix of skills, both active and passive, that could be used in and/or out of battle. Right?_

 **Correct. So what are you confused about?**

 _Well, how come you_ _'_ _ve already taught me to cast Barrier, Cure, Blizzard, and Fire when they came from four different materia and I have only one?_

 **Good question,** Sephiroth huffed.

Neither said anything for a while, Hermione watching the flickering lights of her little camp fire.

 **You want to know what is even stranger?** Sephiroth finally said.

 _Go on._

 **Few on Gaia were ever able to use magic without the corresponding materia. A fire ball required a fire materia. A lightning bolt, a lightning one. Even the Cetras and Jenova — for their ability to use their own, particular brands of magic — were restricted in that use. By comparison, your people have direct access to a form of magic that is seemingly limitless. And yet they have imposed their own limits on it, by creating a casting system and perpetuating these limitations through teaching, each part of your world offering solely that particular system to their children although others exist.**

 _I suppose the human mind is not designed to handle limitless anything. And when we are offered that kind of freedom, we prefer to restrict the use ourselves._

 **True, I suppose. I still find it strange that the core for your wand is a blank materia. Although I suppose it would be more accurate to describe as a forming Master Magic materia.**

 _Is that the same materia you told me about? The one that allowed its wielder to cast all the combat spells that existed on your world?_

 **The same one.**

Hermione sighed as she looked at the wand in her hand.

 _Does this mean that more materia could be laying around somewhere? Like the command or support materia? Or maybe even the summons? And that some of them might even be Master materia?_

 **I do not know. I can tell you that the sorcerers of your world are using Mako magic. Whether it requires materia and that knowledge is being kept hidden, or your people have found their own way to tap into the Lifestream, I cannot say for sure. What I can tell you is that summoning is well in use. It appears that your world is full of spirits of varying strength. From what I could find in the Lifestream before I joined you, some spirits choose to attach themselves to sorcerers to act as the protectors.**

 _You mean, like you did for me?_

 **Yes. Other spirits will answer a summon as and when their name is called. And others appear to only answer if they feel like it. Many will only come provided the sorcerer has something to offer them, be that knowledge, food, or something else.**

 _Wait. So could I summon you to me?_

 **Good question. I assume so, but it** **'** **s not necessarily a great idea. Even as a spirit, I remain powerful. I can only assume it would be draining on my novice sorceress.**

 _Fine,_ Hermione said with a light chuckle in her tone. _What about finding me another spirit I can play with?_

Sephiroth was silent for a while. And suddenly, Hermione was pulled into the Lifestream. She watched as Sephiroth's form materialized into the green lights of the River of Life.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked.

But the general still didn't say anything, watching the younger SOLDIER facing him. A gesture brought Masamune to his hand. Hermione blinked slowly.

"What is it you intend to do with your new powers, Hermione?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know."

"Do you intend to help your friend Harry?"

Hermione nodded even as she bit her bottom lip.

"Even if this course of action guarantees you will eventually have to face those who have attacked you? Who have hurt you…"

The tears fell without Hermione noticing as she closed her eyes and let her chin drop against the top of her chest. She didn't see Sephiroth stepped forward. But for the first time, she didn't startle at the unexpected touch of his hand upon her head. His gloved fingers burrowed into her wavy, brown-and-silver hair. The young witch hiccuped against the sobs gathering in her chest as her lower lip trembled.

"I am far from the best person — or spirit — for this, Hermione," Sephiroth started. "But I am here to help. In any way I can."

The Gaian warrior pressed gently upon the witch's head until she stepped forward into his one-armed embrace.

"What do you want, Hermione?"

"I want them to pay, Sephiroth," the girl whined. Her sobs grew louder as she continued. "I want them to suffer, like they made me suffer. I want to avenge my parents. I want them dead. All of them. Lestrange. Greyback. Dolohov. Everyone of them."

The last was screamed and the lights of the Lifestream grew brighter for a moment, the spirit world witnessing and responding to the pain of innocence lost. Sephiroth held the younger warrior as she cried. And as her pain subsided, once more hiding in the furthest recesses of her heart and behind the Occlumency walls that protected Sephiroth within her mind, Sephiroth tightened his grip on her.

"Am I a bad person, Sephiroth?" came the whispered inquiry.

"No, Hermione. I am the Nightmare. The One-Winged Angel. The SOLDIER who terrorized an entire planet after searching for the mother I never knew only to find a monster who molded my mind in her image. You may choose to follow a darker path than the one you were on, but you will not become the Nightmare of this world. I'll see to that."

"How can you be sure?"

"I can't. But I believe in you. You have been changed by what happened to you. For better or worse. But you can walk the shadows, and still fight for the light. Your Potion Master is living proof of that fact."

Hermione dried her tears by rubbing her face against the leather of Sephiroth's coat. She sniffed back the last of her tears and looked from the mess she'd made on the leather, up into Sephiroth's green eyes.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. However, I'd like you to answer the question. What do you want? What do you intend to do?"

"I am Hermione," the witch said as she drew her wand, "SOLDIER, Third Class. I will complete my studies, whether it be karate, wushu, witchcraft, sorcery, or swordsmanship. I will support my friend Harry as he fulfills his destiny. I will avenge my parents' deaths. And I will see SOLDIER reborn in this world and restored to its full honor."

Sephiroth huffed a breath as he watched Hermione close her eyes and bring her wand to her face, placing the flat section of the silk-wrapped wooden piece against her forehead. The two stayed together for a while longer before Hermione rejoined the physical world, determined to master her Mako spells.

#

The following morning saw Hermione break her routine. She donned a set of transfigured robes and returned to Diagon Alley. With the hood of her cloak securely pulled low over her eyes, she made her way straight for Flourish & Blotts. The section on sorcery was rather small but it made for a good start. She read through a few tables of contents and bibliography to get a better idea of what she was looking for.

 **You do realize that what others experience with sorcery might be completely different than what you will. And for that matter, they might have completely false ideas about the subject.**

 _True. But I need to start somewhere._

By the time she left the book shop, Hermione was armed with a list of rare books on the subject of sorcery, and another list of names of so-called sorcery masters. The young witch then made her way to Knockturn Alley.

 **Show no fear or they will rip you to shreds,** came Sephiroth's warning.

Hermione straightened although she kept her head down. And when a man inevitably approached, as her robes did not hide the fact she was a witch, her Stunning Spell was fast and powerful enough to knock the man head over heels and sending him sprawling in a pile of garbage by the side of the alley. Hermione quickly hid her trembling hands in the folds of her robe, but the rest of the alley seemed to have gotten the message. No one else tried to bother her. The young witch quickly made her way to Borgin and Burkes. Once there, she headed straight for the bookshelves, quickly scanning the spines and covers for a title or an author on her lists. She found a few, which she took off the shelves without even glancing at the prices. One of the staff came forward but Hermione waved him off as she continued on her little hunt.

Soon enough, she had an armful of books. She delicately placed the books on a small table and started to scan the tables of contents. In the space of five minutes, she had reduced her pile to the five most promising tomes. She went through her list quickly then waved her hand to replace those books she wasn't interested in back onto their shelves before she made her way to the counter. An older wizard had replaced the young assistant she had dismissed earlier.

"How quickly would you be able to track down a copy of _A Treatise on Sorcery_ by Morgana, Mr…?"

"Ah… I am Mr Borgin. One of the owners. I'm afraid that all the works of Morgana are rather hard to find nowadays."

"Money is no object," Hermione interrupted the man.

Hermione could almost see the aura of greed surrounding the shop owner.

"May I have your name, my lady?"

"Aerith Gainsborough. Find me the book and we can discuss your price then."

"Of course, Madam Gainsborough."

"Miss, actually. I will come back in a few days. Do not attempt to contact me. Your owls would only come back without fulfilling their duty."

Hermione visited a few other shops, picking up a few more books on either sorcery or the dark arts. She then made back for her home. The young witch started reading. Even without the books teaching the basics, she quickly learned that sorcery was a bit of a lost art in the wizarding world. The title of sorcerer was most often associated with people able to manipulate one or more elements. Rather than the basic Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, the list of sorcerous elements extended to include the likes of Time, Lightning, Ice, Light, and Darkness among other appellations.

Most sorcerers had an affinity for one or two magics, but few were those who control more than that. To do so, they used their life force — or mana, as Sephiroth called it — to direct their element. But a good sorcerer would use their other specialty to work around their natural limitation. All sorcerers could call upon the spirits of Earth to help them in their endeavors. A sorcerer with the right spiritual connections could find their power and even knowledge boosted quite considerably with the right help. And so a sorcerer with an affinity for water might strike a bargain with spirits of time, fire, or wind to access their powers.

Casting elemental spells was draining, and working with summoned spirits even more so. Although a sorcerer did not require a wand to focus their power through, it was a lot harder to use than witchcraft or wizardry. This was part of the reason it had fallen into disuse. Entered the power crystals. Sorcerers of the past had discovered that crystals of all kinds could be used to stored power within, allowing a sorcerer to save up his energy to cast stronger spells. But some special crystals would store more than just energy: given enough time, they would remember a magic and allow their owner to cast it — even if it was not their affinity. Those crystals had never been named, because few sorcerers ever admitted to owning one. But Sephiroth immediately associated the term materia to them. And from his memories, Hermione couldn't help but agree these were the closest you would get to the old Gaian power crystals. It soon became apparent to both Hermione and Sephiroth that the sorcerers had quickly decided that storing up power was more advantageous than working to expand their natural reserves.

 **Sounds to me,** the dark angel eventually commented, **like your magic users forgot that mind, body, and spirit are interconnected. One will most often affect the others in subtle ways.**

Hermione could only agree with Sephiroth. After all, she had already noted marked improvements in her witchcraft since she'd started studying martial arts. She could cast a few spells wandlessly now, though she had never tried to do so in time of great stress or even in simulated combat. And she could cast all the spells she knew silently. Her intent had been crystallized to diamond hardness and refined to an edge matching Masamune's by the events of the previous few months.

That afternoon, Hermione dedicated herself to training with her Mako spells. Under Sephiroth's guidance, she started to perfect her casting of the four spells she already knew. Of these, **Blizzard** was by far the easiest to use. But she cast again and again until it took her only a thought to cast **Fire** , **Barrier** , and **Cure** too. Through trial and error, Hermione and Sephiroth found that it became harder for her to use Mako magic if she was too far away from her wand. She didn't need her wand to cast **Blizzard** at all, but it needed to be nearby for the other Mako spells to work seamlessly. Finally, the sorceress and her guardian spirit sat down and Hermione lit her camp fire by firing a **Fire** at the kindling she had gathered.

 **You are getting better already. Your stamina has improved along with your physical fitness.**

 _Wasn_ _'_ _t that kind of the point?_

 **Yes, I suppose,** Sephiroth agreed. **But to be fair, I didn** **'** **t expect it to be that quick.**

 _Why not?_ Hermione questioned. _I have the Sephiroth cells in me, haven_ _'_ _t I?_

 **True.**

 _Doesn_ _'_ _t that mean that I could become just as good a SOLDIER as you were? Just as strong. Just as fast. Just as deadly._

Sephiroth scoffed. **Let** **'** **s just hope madness is not an inherited trait then.**

Hermione dutifully chuckled out loud. She knew that the silver-haired warrior had purposefully changed the subject. Memories — snatches of conversations — danced around the edges of their combined consciousness. And so, Hermione knew that it wasn't that simple. She knew that the Sephiroth's cells were not supposed to work this way. She also knew that the General preferred to ignore this.

So the young witch ate the chicken sandwich she had bought for dinner then lost herself in her books for a while longer. But when came the time for her daily meditation, she closed the book she had been reading and stretched slowly. She took a deep breath as she stood then exhaled as she bent forward, touching her toes with her fingers. Hermione settled back into a lotus position, eyes closed. Her mind clear and her focus sharp, she let her spirit travel to the place in the Lifestream where she always met Sephiroth.

"You're getting good at this," the general commented.

"What troubles me is that I don't even wonder about the bits of knowledge I know that I really shouldn't?" Hermione said.

"What, you mean things such as how to best to counter an overhead strike from an opponent who is stronger than you are, or how to bend a **Firaga** spell to your will to attack a person without giving them an escape?"

"Yeah. That kind of things."

"I think," Sephiroth mused, "that it's a result or my presence in your mind. Our spirits are sharing knowledge through memories. I know how to cast your spells and make one of your potions. And you know how to use a sword and Mako spells."

Even as he spoke, Sephiroth summoned Masamune to his hand. In turn, Hermione drew her SOLDIER broadsword. The silver-haired warrior then proceeded to put Hermione through her paces. Sephiroth was quite obviously the superior swordsman but he was quite satisfied with his student's progress, considering she had never picked up a sword until just a few months ago. In the end, he disengaged from the mock battle and stood straight in front of Hermione.

"You are ready."

"For what?" Hermione asked as she looked at the silver-haired warrior.

"To advance further. After all, no Third Class can lead SOLDIER."

Hermione watched with a half smile as Sephiroth focused his Mako-infused eyes on her and her dark blue SOLDIER uniform changed to a deep crimson.

"Congratulations, SOLDIER Second Class Hermione."

Hermione crossed the distance between them in just a few steps and let herself fall against Sephiroth's chest, wrapping her arms around him.

"I won't disappoint you."

"You never could. Even if you tried, little one."

Training continued without much change over the next days. Through her meditations, Hermione found herself connecting to Sephiroth on a deeper level. Hermione's grasp on Mako became greater nearly overnight, and she found herself working to integrate several powerful attacks into her own technique that she had never witnessed in real life, yet remembered perfectly through Sephiroth. They also agreed that the reason why Hermione had such an easy time with the **Blizzard** spell was probably because she had an affinity for ice-based sorcery.

The two of them also found themselves attracting some attention from the spirit world. During their daily escapades to the Lifestream, where it was so much easier to communicate for the both of them, several spirits took to brush against their owns. None ever made true contact or even showed themselves to the pair, but all were obviously curious about the new sorceress and her guardian angel. Until one morning, Hermione woke to see a pair of yellow glowing eyes watching her from across her little camp.

 _Err_ _…_ _Sephiroth?_

 **To answer your unvoiced questions, yes, this does look like a strange mix between a behemoth and a shadowcreeper. Secondly, yes, it is a spirit. And lastly, no, I have no idea why it** **'** **s here.**

The black beast was thin and long of body and covered in a scaly black skin, crouching on its four legs opposite Hermione as he watched the witch-sorceress. A long whippy tail, sharp talons and teeth, and a pair of frontal horns provided the spirit with ample weapons to take down his enemies. But unlike the monsters this spirit's looks seemed to be based on, the beast barely reached Hermione's waist. Hermione flicked her gaze between the three-toed paws, the glowing golden eyes, the scraggy black mane and the slightly beak-like nose. The beast seemed to regard her with the same fascination. It disappeared before she could say anything more. But it returned the following day. And the day after that. Soon enough, Hermione felt that she could reach out to the spirit. She called it a shadowcreeper within her mind, since the spirit most resembled that Gaian monster, and named it Umbra in deference to the fact it obviously prefered to stick the the shadows though he wasn't really afraid of the light either. And before long, she found it would come whenever she called.

 **Congratulation, Hermione,** Sephiroth later quipped. **I think you have just earned your first summon.**

A few days later, Nagnok got in touch to confirm that her parents estate had been settled, leaving her rich enough to move away from England and start a brand new life abroad if she so desired. Between the money from the various bank accounts and investments, the business, the home insurance, and the life policies, Hermione had just over two hundred thousands galleons in her account. Nagnok also confirmed that, with her parents' deaths, she was now the official head of House Granger. The goblin had buried the fact in red tape for her, contacted her to discuss her coat of arms and house motto, and arranged for a signet ring to be commissioned. In exchange, Hermione had made Nagnok her account manager. The nightmares that night stuck harder than they'd ever had before, waking Hermione in the middle of the night, her throat raw with her screams and tears coursing down her cheeks. Sephiroth pulled the young woman into the Lifestream and held her firmly within his embrace. The witch was more than willing to risk another bout of Mako withdrawal if it meant she didn't have to be alone.

#

The first week of August came with a rather nasty shock for Hermione. She had started that Monday in her usual way, with a warm up run around the playing field, working then through her stretching exercises and the basic kata and taolu she had been learning. She had been determined to take advantage of her last few hours of freedom, certain that her afternoon 'classes' might then turn into all-day affairs now that school was out in the Muggle world. But for the first time since just before the Easter holiday, she saw an owl flying her way. Her first instinct was to draw her wand and throw a combination of _Protego_ and **Barrier** around her. Hermione cringed as the owl slammed into the invisible shields. The witch quickly threw a another charm to break the poor bird's fall.

"What now?" Hermione muttered as she approached the messenger.

She summoned a piece of bacon from her camp to offer the owl. It accepted her apology then extended its leg for her. The message dangled there, bearing the Hogwarts crest.

"Oh great!"

 **You do realize you are still to go back to that school, don** **'** **t you?**

"Yeah…"

Hermione signaled for the bird to follow her and she walked under the relative protection of the trees. At least, it would be harder for a Muggle to spot what she was doing here. The young witch waved her wand, summoning the scroll to her but making sure to set it to hover in front of her eyes. With another few flicks, the parchment unrolled and Hermione was assured it was not a Portkey or cursed as best she could tell.

 _Dear Miss Granger,_

 _I hope this message will find you in relative good health. It is my duty as the Deputy Headmistress to inquire as to your plans for the coming year. Since you were unable to sit your OWLs, you will not be able to attend NEWT-level courses at this moment in time. The Ministry is running remedial OWLs examinations during the second week of August. Alternatively, you can sit the written part of the exams via owl post and sit the practicals at Hogwarts on September 2nd and 3rd. If you choose not to return to Hogwarts this year, you would need to send your Prefect badge back to us and let us know who — in your mind — would be best qualified to take over your post._

 _On a more personal note, I would like to know that all is well with you. Please, Miss Granger, answer this owl even if to tell me to leave you alone._

 _Minerva McGonagall_

Hermione half-smiled, fingering the thick parchment.

 **She sounds worried.**

"She probably is. Professor McGonagall is my Head of House, and I'm something of a teacher's pet."

 **I know** , the silver-haired spirit commented.

The witch looked around to see that the owl was still here, obviously waiting for a reply.

"It's all right, little owl. I've got my own messenger to get my reply to the Professor."

The owl hooted softly and took off.

 **Since when do we have an owl?**

"We don't. But we do have someone who can act as one. I want to think I can trust Professor McGonagall."

And so, the young witch quickly ran to purchase pen and paper from her local shop. She made her way back to a secluded part of the playing field, with trees all around, and quickly wrote back to her teacher. She officially stated that she would return but would not remain Prefect, recommending Fay Dunbar for the job. She also requested for the Deputy Head to send her the theory papers for her OWLs. She would sit the practicals once she returned to Hogwarts. She also stated that the practicals for Astronomy, Arithmancy, and Herbology could be scheduled for a later date, as she would not continue with these subjects. She told her professor that she would not continue with History of Magic or Ancient Runes either. This left her with Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense, and Care of Magical Creatures.

 **Why are you continuing with the Care of Magical Creature coursework?**

 _Because I think it might help with Mako magic,_ Hermione replied as she continued to write.

 **How?**

 _Well, I don_ _'_ _t know about Gaia but here on Earth, spirits used to be living beings. I'm not sure why the summon spirits have not returned to the Lifestream, but they were once alive. And knowing how to deal with them when they were alive would help greatly handling them in their spirit forms._

Sephiroth had no reply to that, since that logic even applied to him. Hermione finished off her letter by telling her favorite teacher that she was as well as could be expected, and that she would call for her if she found she needed something before school started but she preferred if no one knew that she had been in touch with her — in particular the Headmaster.

 **Are you sure this is wise?**

 _What? Asking her to keep me a secret?_

 **Not allowing her to create a backup. In my experience, this is when things start to go wrong.**

Hermione pursed her lips then scratched out that sentence and rewrote it, with Sephiroth reading over her shoulder — so to speak.

 **Tell only Professor Snape, if you have to** **…** **Isn't that the spy?**

 _Yes. He_ _'_ _s the one who accompanied Professor McGonagall that time she visited._

Hermione closed her eyes for a minute, concentrating. When she opened them once more, both her eyes were shining with Mako energy.

"Shadowcreeper Umbra."

The summoned spirit appeared in a swirl of green light and black smoke. Hermione smiled as the spirit-beast bounced across to her and head butted her thigh. The witch let her hands ran along his head and back, tugging lightly at his mane, wondering not for the first time where Crookshanks was. Her pet half-Kneazle had been in the house that night.

"Good morning, Umbra."

The shadowcreeper turned his head and his dry tongue rasped against Hermione's fingers. The witch smiled then showed her letter to the summon.

"Can you take something physical across with you?"

Umbra simply nodded. They had not yet managed to form verbal communication with the shadowcreeper. It was obviously intelligent — scarily so as it could understand both her words and her intents.

"I would like you to deliver this letter to a Professor Minerva McGonagall. I'm not sure if she would be in her home — wherever that is — or at Hogwarts. One way or the other, make sure you wait until she is alone to deliver this. And you might want to make sure you remain in spirit form until you can make her understand you mean no harm. She is rather quick with a wand."

Umbra gave Hermione's fingers another lick before he grasped her letter between his teeth and he pranced away.

 **That will go over well.**

"I have no time to ease everyone into my new powers and skills. They can all like it or lump it."

With these words, Hermione set about making a list of every book she had lost to the Death Eaters. She was still writing when she heard her name being called out.

"Ah, there you are."

Lin was now walking through the trees.

"Hello, Lin. Can I help you with anything?"

"I think I should be the one asking that question," the man said as he looked around at the multiple sheets of paper bearing Hermione's handwriting.

"I've received a letter from my school. Because I missed my end of year exams, they'll be sending me the mock up written exams in a few days. And they'll arrange for me to take my actual exams just before school starts. Now I just have to sort out everything that I'm going to need and start revising."

"Sounds like a lot of work."

Lin sat in the grass opposite Hermione and the young witch shrugged.

"Would you like help?"

"Oh, no," Hermione said with a smile. "That's why I'm making a list. So I can get everything in one go."

"And will someone be able to take you where you need to go?"

"No problem with that. I might need to find a part-time job until the end of the summer to pay for all the books," Hermione smiled. "I'm quite the bookworm."

"Really?"

Lin looked up at the sky and Hermione had learned to let the man think his way through the English language.

"Any books I might be able to lend?"

"Not for school work. But if you own any fiction book you are willing to part with until the next holidays, I'd be delighted."

Lin bowed his head in Hermione's direction. "I will try to see what I have. However, I have an idea to get you some extra money. You are sixteen, are you not?"

"Yes. Nearly seventeen, actually."

"Why don't you teach during the afternoon? Many of the children love visiting the park now to watch you train. Maybe we can convince the center to free a room for a couple of hours every day. And many of the parents have commented how you helped their children with homework. Maybe you could offer a tutoring service too."

Hermione nodded slowly. "I suppose I could. Would the group leaders agree?"

"I will ask."

Lin bowed and left. Hermione watched him as he walked through the trees. Things had just gotten both easier and more complicated.

#

A/N:

I wanted to continue naming everyone that follows, favorites, or reviews this story but it's getting kind of hard to keep track of all of you. So instead, I'll give you all a big virtual hug. You guys are the best and I hope you'll continue to enjoy this story.

I'm sure that not everyone reading this is entirely familiar with both the Potterverse and Final Fantasy. Most will probably know more about one or the other. Please feel free to tell me if there's something that should be explained in greater details.


	5. Back to School

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

#

CHAPTER FIVE

Back to School

Hermione stood in a corner of Platform nine-and-three-quarters, watching people as they arrived. The atmosphere was rather subdued, she noted. She had Disillusioned herself and had chosen to stand to one side, where no one would accidentally bump into her.

The rest of her summer had gone by so quickly that Hermione still had trouble thinking today was the first of September. Lin had come through and Hermione spent all her afternoons either as a teaching assistant for the Chingford Karate Club or as a homework assistant for many of the neighborhood kids. Her mornings had changed to a mix of training and studying. She had managed to gain control over two more Mako spells: one a shield against magical attacks; the other a way to recharge her mana by stealing from other living beings — or **M-Barrier** and **MP Absorb** as Sephiroth thought of them. She had also received an owl from Professor McGonagall telling her that her OWLs papers would follow shortly. The actual exams had been rather well-organized. The parchments had been sealed and warded. Once the seal had been breached, all books within reach had been banished for the duration and a countdown had started. As soon as the countdown had reached its end, the parchments had rolled and sealed itself and had disappeared away to the Ministry.

In a private note, her Head of House had pointed out that the Ministry had absolutely no idea who it was they were testing. She'd then asked what on earth was the beast that had delivered her first missive. Hermione had smiled as she penned her reply, explaining that Umbra was a shadowcreeper and he was something approaching a familiar though he did not live with her — and that despite his appearance, he was very nice and useful. The concept of a familiar was the closest she could come to a Summon.

The Gryffindor Head of House had also mentioned that she had let Professor Snape into the confidence, although she had apparently only told him that she was alive and well. As she'd promised, McGonagall had made no further effort to find her. To Hermione and Sephiroth's knowledge, neither had Snape.

Hermione blinked as a shout rang through the station, pulling her away from her memories with a flinch. Her wand was in her hand before any conscious thought registered, witchcraft and sorcery sizzling within her. She watched a child run by and join his friends, some of them already in their Hogwarts uniforms. Hermione released a shuddering breath and lowered her weapon. She flexed her fingers around her wand and breathed in deep, trying to settle the tremors running through her limbs. A few deep breaths brought the worst of her symptoms under control. She felt Sephiroth shift within her mind. But the other SOLDIER offered neither empty words nor false comfort. He stood within her mind, a solid presence to lean on for a moment if necessary.

 **Look lively.**

Hermione snorted at Sephiroth's words but refocused on the outside world, standing tall once more. The witch-sorceress smiled when she saw Harry come onto the platform. He was looking around, seemingly ignoring Ron. The huge black dog standing by his side was not new, but still quite unexpected. Would the Animagus know her by smell? Hermione shrugged. She would just have to hope Sirius Black was too busy to notice. Or that her smell had been radically changed by the many other changes in her life. She watched as Harry continued to look this and that way, pushing away Mrs Weasley's hands as she tried to usher him onto the train.

 **He** **'** **s looking for you.**

Hermione smiled. Although she was returning to Hogwarts, she was determined to make sure everyone knew where they stood with her. As far as she was concerned, everyone but Harry was now the enemy. Professors Snape and McGonagall had been upgraded to 'acquaintances' since they - at least - had tried to look for her. The others were welcome to try and change her mind.

 **It** **'** **s a rather pessimistic outlook on the situation.**

 _And why are you now trying to play devil_ _'_ _s advocate, may I ask?_

 **Some would have helped, had they been able to. Or had you** **asked.**

 _And those will probably not be deterred by my new attitude. Those will quickly earn back the status of_ _'_ _friend'._

 **What do you intend to do?**

Hermione sighed. She hadn't decided. Or rather she had, but she wasn't sure it was a good idea. But then again, Sephiroth already knew that. Rather than answering him, she made her way to the train. She was one of the last to get on. Hermione climbed onto the locomotive itself, and from there jumped onto the roof of the first carriage. No one would think to look for her here. As the train started to move, Hermione reclined, watching the scenery go by.

 **Did you know that both Zack and Cloud once traveled this way?**

 _I did, actually. But neither of them were avoiding their friends in the compartments below._

 **True.**

It took a little while but once the Hogwarts Express was no longer in sight of London, Hermione removed the spell upon herself, enjoying the feel of the wind in her hair and the warmth of the last of the summer sun on her skin. The girl was wearing her SOLDIER uniform. Although she had ditched the helmet once again, she quite enjoyed the fact that she was now wearing half of her House colors. Sephiroth had categorically refused to let her charm her armor from black to gold though.

 **Won** **'** **t you need to change?**

 _Yes, but I want to delay that as long as possible._

Hermione passed the time by reading The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. Lin had come through for her yet again when he'd visited yesterday and had presented her with a veritable library of Muggle texts. Everything from classics to modern thrillers, gardening to electronic manuals, and fantasy novels to books on martial arts from all around the world. Lin had said he had spread the word around the neighborhood and people had started giving in books. In many of the books, she had found little notes from children and adults alike wishing her a good year at school and hoping she would come back to teach them next year. And as she read, the countryside passed by. Soon enough, the train started to slow down and she shrunk her book with a silent spell, dropping it in her pocket where her trunk already was. With a few waves of her wand, she changed into her school uniform.

 **Aren** **'** **t you supposed to be in a skirt?**

 _Actually, nowhere does it says girls_ _ **have**_ _to wear a skirt. Or that boys have to wear trousers, for that matter._

Hermione smirked at her outfit. She had traded her pleated skirts for somewhat loose dress trousers, her dainty shoes for comfortable combat boots, and her usual long-sleeved cardigans for sleeveless jumpers. She had also opted to wear her SOLDIER gloves at all times, the feel of black leather on her hands now a very familiar sensation. Another wave of her wand gathered her brown and silver hair into a loose plait that ended just below her waist.

 **I suppose it** **'** **ll have to do for when you can't wear your SOLDIER uniform.**

 _Oh, Sephiroth, trust me when I say that I would prefer wearing my SOLDIER uniform rather than this one._

As the train approached the station, Hermione once more Disillusioned herself. She jumped off the roof of her compartment even before the train had completely stopped, executing a perfect tumble to break her fall. From there, she made her way to the carriages. The Thestrals seemed incredibly interested in her, obviously able to see through her spell. Seeing them properly for the first time, Hermione could understand why some people were afraid of them as first. They were scary-looking, with their skeletal bodies, draconic face and wings, and impressive size. The two she approached nosed at her clothes and lipped at her hair, maybe searching for a treat. Hermione gave them a few pats before she hopped onto the closest one as the carriage he was pulling filled up. As the train ride to Hogsmeade had been, the short drive to Hogwarts was uneventful and Hermione jumped off her ride before the carriage stopped, giving the Thestral a final pat as thanks.

The main doors were already open in welcome of the returning students and Hermione took the steps leading to them two by two. Once out of sight of the first students, she returned to being visible and blended with the first lot of students making their way through the Entrance Hall. She un-shrunk her trunk and placed it with the others before she walked into the Great Hall. She was both surprised and relieved to not see any Gryffindors in that first group. As she entered the Great Hall, she made a bee line for Professor McGonagall.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall. How was your summer?"

The older witch blinked several times, watching her without a word. The rest of the High Table had also fallen silent at her approach.

 **You should have told her your appearance had changed,** Sephiroth taunted.

Hermione ignored him with practiced ease.

"Sorry about all the extra work I probably caused you over the summer," the young witch carried on. "The Ministry said they would send you the scores for the written portion of my OWLs, as well as the details for the practicals."

"Ah, yes. Yes, Miss Granger," her Head of House recovered quickly. "I have everything for you in my office. Although, are you quite sure about giving up your post as Prefect?"

"Most definitely, Professor. I simply won't have the time."

"Very well. I think I should warn you now that you are expected to attend your practicals for Potions, Defense, and Astronomy this very evening. Right after the Welcoming Feast ends, as a matter of fact."

Hermione half-smiled as her teacher was desperately trying not to stare at her eye, her scar, or her hair.

"It's all right, Professor. I rather like my new looks. I think it make me seem more dangerous."

The young witch included the whole table in the joke by sweeping a look across the table. Most of her teachers returned her grin, if somewhat hesitantly.

"If you would meet me in my office after dinner is over, I will give you your timetable for your practicals and we can discuss any other NEWT subjects you might want to study."

Hermione almost jokingly asked if they would let her do a NEWT in sorcery or sword fighting. But she refrained.

 **Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.**

 _Quoting Sun Tzu to me now, Sephiroth?_

 **It is a good rule to fight by.**

 _Indeed._

Hermione quickly made her way to the Gryffindor table.

 _Now for the real challenge._

#

It didn't take long for the first Gryffindors to join her at the table. Curiously — or maybe not so — they steered clear of the strange witch sitting in the nearest seat to the High Table and reading while facing the rest of the large room. The table filled slowly and Hermione ignored everyone, still reading her book. It wasn't until Harry came in, along with Neville, Ginny, and Luna, that things changed. As Hermione had learned to expect, Luna acted unexpectedly. She happily left the others behind and skipped all the way down the table and around the end in order to pull Hermione to her feet, proceeding to hug the life out of her.

"I'm so happy to see you, Hermione. I wasn't sure if you would come back. Of course, I knew you were safe. You've been the only topic of conversation in the spirit world for months. Plus, I don't see many who could hurt you now that Sephiroth is with you."

 **How** **…**

 _Don_ _'_ _t ask, Sephiroth. Just go with it. Luna is scarily perceptive at times._

"It's good to see you too, Luna," Hermione said out loud as she returned the hug.

"Can I have some of that too?"

Hermione lifted her head to see that Ginny had made her way to them. Hermione opened one arm and welcomed Ginny into the hug. She had a weird moment when she felt almost peeved or jealous that even after the growth spurt her alliance with Sephiroth had provoked, she still was smaller than Ginny by an inch or so when she was nearly two years older. But as soon as she escaped the clutches of her two female friends, she found herself crushed against Harry.

"I thought I'd lost you."

"Hey there, little brother. I'm sorry I couldn't get in touch. There was just too much going on."

Harry loosened his embrace slightly, bringing a finger to trace her scar. He frowned as he studied her damaged eye. But Hermione smiled and squeezed his hand in comfort.

"Well, now your eye match mine," Harry joked weakly before swallowing hard.

"I know," Hermione exclaimed loudly and with a bright smile. "I've always liked the color of your eyes. So I've decided to get my own. Didn't quite work out the way I wanted though."

Hermione waved a hand through the air and shrugged. She then pushed Harry to take a seat opposing her. Ginny took the seat beside him and Neville, after a short hug, sat beside Hermione. Ron arrived just a few minutes later and proceeded to stare at Hermione.

"Hey, Mione. What happened to your face?"

Ginny swiftly slapped her brother upside the head, but Hermione only huffed a laugh and shook her head. Ron settled at the table grumpily, rubbing at his head. The rest of Gryffindor tentatively greeted their resident bookworm then quieted as the Sorting Ceremony started. Then the Headmaster announced the changes in the staff, with the Gryffindor moaning at Professor Snape becoming their Defense teacher. The Headmaster's blackened hand raised a good amount of talk too. Hermione chose not to comment on either issue. With the formalities out of the way, food was served. Hermione looked at the dishes spread in front of her and sighed.

"You're not hungry, Mione?" Harry asked, pausing in dumping some mash onto his plate.

"Oh, I am," Hermione replied. "I'd just forgotten just how unhealthy Hogwarts food can be."

As if to prove her case, Hermione poked at a piece of fried chicken on Harry's plate that seemed to still be dripping in oil. In the end, the SOLDIER reached for the dishes holding the vegetables and filled her plate with green beans, carrots, brocoli, and ended it with a large piece of wild salmon from a different dish. As everyone started to eat, conversations turned to what everyone had done for the summer. Hermione again chose not to say anything, instead eating as fast as she could without risking indigestion.

"Hermione?" came Harry's whisper. "Are you sure you okay?"

Hermione's mismatched eyes met her friend's bright green orbs from across the table. And she could feel Neville's darker green gaze on her too. Hermione chewed and swallowed her mouthful of vegetables.

"Sure. Why?"

"You're quiet," Harry commented.

"And eating faster than usual," Neville added with a little smile in the hope of relieving some of the creeping tension.

Hermione smiled warmly at her friends and chuckled.

"You guys might be done with exams until the end of the year, but I have to sit my practicals before school actually starts."

Both young men startled and glanced at each other, clearly uncomfortable.

 **Have you noticed how no one is asking you what you** **'** **ve done over the summer? How they are avoiding bringing up test scores and chosen classes for this year? For that matter, those two young men are doing their level best to respect your current silence, although I'm not sure they realize the changes you went through.**

 _Yes, I noticed._

And she had. Harry and Neville were by far the most sensitive boys in her year group. And this was as Gryffindorishly obvious an attempt at protecting her as she had ever seen.

"So, Harry, should I ask how your summer went before someone rescued you from the Dursleys?"

"Oh. It was fine."

"Really? So no locking up in the cupboard, or putting bars on your window, or bringing you food through a cat flap?"

 **Maybe we should visit the Dursleys before the year lets out** **…** **Are you sure it's Voldemort we should protect Harry from?**

Hermione let Sephiroth's comment pass. She had thought in similar ways since she'd become aware of just what Harry was subject to during the summer months.

"Err… No. It was fine."

Hermione made an unconvinced sound in the back of her throat, and Harry actually flushed. With a last tutting sound, Hermione turned to Neville.

"How about you?"

"As usual, I suppose. Although I did go to Ollivander's to get a new wand."

"Yeah, he mentioned that when I went to get mine. He said it was a good match."

"And how were your holidays, Hermione?" Neville asked.

"Great," Hermione smiled brightly, hoping to put her friends at ease. "Studied, trained, passed the theory portion of my OWLs, made a few friends… And if you're still wondering, the reason why I'm eating fast is because I've got to meet with Professor McGonagall in a bit. I'm taking the practicals for Charms, Defense, and Astronomy this evening."

"It's not even the official start of school, and you're already talking about tests, Mione," Ron moaned.

Harry and Neville turned sharply, throwing disbelieving looks at their house mate. Ginny made to hit her brother again, but Hermione broke the would-be fight by laughing loudly.

"You took those tests last year, Ron. I need to catch up or I won't be allowed in the NEWT-level lessons."

 **Were you really attracted to that boy?**

 _Ah_ _…_ _Yes, I'm afraid. But not to worry, Sephiroth. I think the Death Eaters managed to cure me from that. You're the only man in my life for now._

The sound of Sephiroth's dark laughter brought a half-smile to Hermione's face. In the deepest, still private, recesses of her mind, the young witch-sorceress thought the SOLDIER general had probably not laughed enough in his previous life. Hermione speared the last piece of salmon on her plate and brought it to her mouth, chewing contentedly. She pushed the plate away from her and stood.

"Well, got to go and get ready."

Hermione pulled her gloves up on her wrists and bounced a few times on the balls of her feet as she glanced at the High Table. Professor McGonagall nodded at her and the younger witch smiled back.

"Wish me luck!" Hermione said as she started towards the door.

"You don't need luck," was the collective reply from her friends.

Hermione answered with a smile and a wave of her hand in their direction.

#

Hermione leaned against the wall opposite the door to Professor McGonagall's office, her hands crossed behind her head and her eyes closed. She replayed the moments in the Great Hall in her mind. For all of her apparent nonchalance, she had unconsciously tensed as some of the Slytherins had noticed her presence from across the room. The sons and daughters of those who had held her against her will for ten weeks. The rage within her was strong, though hopefully well-hidden by now. Her daily meditations had helped with that, but at times she felt that her grief and fury were visible to all. And she could not afford that particular weakness. She needed the Death Eaters to believe she had moved on altogether. They should not suspect her self-imposed mission for now.

 **But will you tell those two?**

 _I_ _'_ _m still trying to find a way around. I do not want to lie to my professors. But both of them are loyal to Dumbledore. And I cannot trust that man anymore._

Hermione and Sephiroth had talked at length. She knew little of great importance about the war she had been dragged into. Her argument was that she didn't need to know much more than the fact the Death Eaters wanted to kill both her and Harry. Sephiroth's counter-argument was that, if you trained soldiers to fight your battles, they should know everything there was to know about both the situation and the enemy. Or how were they supposed to win? To not tell at least Professor Snape, the spy caught in the middle, about her intentions would be dangerous at best. And downright deadly at worst. Hermione trusted Professor McGonagall. She had always liked the older with and she had kept her word to Hermione over the summer. She just needed to find a way to ease her into the changes to her favorite lion cub.

The sound of footsteps echoing down the corridor brought Hermione out of her thoughts. She blinked at the strange triple-tap sound and her hand reflexively fell to the small of her back, where her wand laid in its sheath. But it turned out to be Professor McGonagall hurrying down the corridor to meet her, leaning against a cane as she walked.

"What in Merlin's name have ye been up to, lass?" the older witch spoke loudly across the corridor.

 **So much for easing her into it.**

 _Shut up, Sephiroth._

Hermione rubbed gloved fingers against her forehead. This was far from the reaction she had expected for her Head of House. Professor McGonagall held manners above all. With that prim and proper attitude, Hermione had expected short and precise words of displeasure spoken in private. Not being accosted in a corridor by a harridan of a witch with her Scottish brogue coming through thick enough to cut with a blade.

"You do remember that I didn't start this, right?"

The older witch waved Hermione's words aside. A wave of the older witch's wand opened the door to her office. Hermione walked through and turned to watch as her Head of House ward the door close behind them, wondering why her Head of House was using a cane. McGonagall pointed to the seat opposite her desk. Hermione sighed and went to sit. Her Head of House sat opposite her, her back straight as she shuffled some parchments on her desk. The cane ended up leaning against the side of the desk.

"I think we'd best get the official stuff out of the way first," McGonagall stated shortly, her tone gruff and official and her accent disappearing once more. "Miss Dunbar has accepted your previous position on the condition she could try to change your mind during this first week. It seems she's not sure she'll be able to counter Mr Weasley's happy-go-lucky attitude."

"She's welcome to try, but I doubt it'll make much difference. However, I will happily spare a couple of hours each week until Christmas to help her out if she thinks she needs it. Be it to act as a councellor to the young ones, or to help Gryffindor with homework."

McGonagall pursed her lips but nodded.

"Next are your OWLs. You've passed all the theory exams with flying colors. I'm happy to say you are on track to receive O's in all your OWLs. As a matter of fact, you already have two OWLs in Study of Ancient Runes and History of Magic."

This time, it was Hermione who nodded. Not that she was pursuing these subjects this year, but it was nice to know.

"As I mentioned," the professor continued, "you will be passing your practical tests for Potions, Defense, and Astronomy this evening. I will escort you there in a little while. Tomorrow, given you have a free afternoon, you will take part in your Transfiguration, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures practicals. Arithmancy and Herbology have been pushed back to Saturday morning since you have chosen not to continue studying these subjects. Your examiner will give the school an indication of whether you have passed the practicals before you leave the test, so we'll know whether or not you will be allowed into the classes you have chosen for your NEWTs. Your final scores will be sent to us in three weeks at most."

Hermione nodded once more. Then the professor seemed to deflate in front of her, leaning back in her seat.

"Now, explain. Everything. Please."

Hermione blinked at the change of tone.

 _She was worried…_

 **She still is,** Sephiroth corrected. **Do not make the mistakes we did, Genesis and I. Reserve your anger for your enemies.**

"It is a long and unpleasant story, Professor."

"Then make it a short and unpleasant one. And right now, it's Minerva."

"Very well, Minerva," Hermione sighed.

And she went on to explain her kidnap, the violence she suffered, and her eventual salvation through Sephiroth's magic. She continued with the learning and studying she'd done over the summer, quietly enjoying the shocked face on her mentor's face when it dawned on her that Hermione was planning revenge, although she had not said anything. To be sure, Hermione wasn't sure how she would take her revenge, just that she would. As she ended her narrative, she presented her wand to the older Gryffindor.

"It is indeed an odd-looking wand."

"Not really, when considering what its counterpart probably is."

"Counterpart?"

Hermione hummed.

 **Do it.**

With this permission, Hermione summoned Masamune to her hand. The nodachi thrummed a note of power through the air. The sorceress was always quite surprised to feel that the overlong blade seemed to weigh next to nothing in her hand.

 **You have grown stronger over the summer,** Sephiroth commented rather needlessly.

Minerva made to touch the blade's edge but Hermione moved it out of the way.

"It's sharp," the younger witch said by way of explanation. "I am now a witch, a sorceress, and a SOLDIER Second Class. I will use all of the skills and magics at my disposal to end Voldemort."

Minerva only sighed and closed her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek.

"I wish I could have protected you."

"What happened was not your doing. And unlike most, you acted. You even asked Professor Snape to help."

"But… How?"

"I saw you. I was there the day you came looking, alone. And I was there when you came back with him later on. You tried to find me. But you couldn't trace me. Probably because you had no idea just how much my magic has changed."

With a thought, Hermione summoned Umbra to her. The shadowcreeper appeared in the midst of black smoke and green light. The somewhat draconic beast bumped his head into his mistress's hand. Minerva just sat, watching and thinking.

"Sorcery has long ago ceased to be practiced. Too hard and demanding for all but the most dedicated. With the rise of witchcraft and wizardry, it became more common place to just wave a wand rather than deal with sometimes demanding spirits."

Hermione shrugged. "It seems neither Umbra nor Sephiroth are high maintenance."

 **I resent that,** Sephiroth huffed.

Hermione ignored him once more. She looked down at the shadowcreeper.

"Umbra, your task this evening is to learn the lay of the Forbidden Forest. Please try to only skirt around the centaurs' territory. I'd rather not be at odds with them unless I can't help it."

The shadowcreeper gave a lick to his summoner's finger then made for the door, turning into a smoky shadow and slipping noiselessly under the crack.

"What is this thing?" Minerva finally whispered.

"As I mentioned before, Umbra is a shadowcreeper. Or at least, the closest thing to a shadowcreeper Earth has ever seen. Like Sephiroth, he's a spirit from another planet. They probably have traveled together, since they're both from Gaia."

"Gaia?"

"That's what Sephiroth and his people called their world."

Minerva looked a bit overwhelmed for a moment. A knock on her office door interrupted whatever she had been about to say. Hermione immediately sent Masamune back to the Lifestream and its real master. A wizard Hermione had never seen before came in at Minerva's call.

"Ah. Miss Granger, let me introduce you to Professor Tofty. He will be your examiner for the duration. Anthonius, this is Hermione Granger."

The younger witch held out her hand to the wizard.

"Pleased to meet you, sir. I would like to apologize for the inconvenience. I was unfortunately unable to be present in May due to unforeseen family problems."

 **Well, I suppose that** **'** **s not a complete lie,** Sephiroth commented.

Hermione wondered for an instant if she could smack a spirit upside the head. Sephiroth caught her thought and chuckled darkly in her mind.

"Not to worry, Miss Granger. The Wizarding Examination Authority does not have much to do over the rest of the year, so this is no bother. Minerva, the Headmaster has sent me here saying that you knew which classroom we would be using."

"Indeed."

The older witch reached for her cane and used it to steady herself as she stood.

"How are you feeling?" Tofty asked as he offered his arm to her.

Minerva McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him, and Hermione watched as the persona of the fearsome Transfiguration Professor slid back into place.

"I am perfectly fine, as you can see."

"The attack would have fell anyone, Minerva," the wizard growled, but not low enough that Hermione didn't catch his words.

But her teacher threw a quick glance in her direction and dismissed her colleague's words with a wave of her hand.

"Come along, Miss Granger. The sooner you start, the sooner you can get back to your dormitory."

 _Yes. And the sooner I can get Harry to tell me just what happened to our Head of House._

Sephiroth's will slid along her own, leaving her twice as determined to get to the bottom of it.

#

AN:

Here's the latest chapter. A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review. Good and bad. Guests and members. Your words help me to grow into my craft and hopefully become a better writer.

I'm hoping to post the next chapter in a few weeks as editing has thrown a bit of a spanner in the works. Feel free to badger me into posting sooner :)


	6. First Day

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER SIX

First Day

#

Hermione stretched slowly as she woke. She could spy a piece of dark blue sky through an opening in the curtains and she guessed it was about four-thirty, maybe five in the morning. The young witch-sorceress jumped out of bed and got dressed in her SOLDIER uniform, tucking the dark red top into her equally red trousers, and the trousers into black leather boots. Her black leather gloves found their way onto her hands.

 _Why blue, red, and black?_

 **Hmm?** came Sephiroth's considered reply.

 _The Third Class SOLDIERs wear blue; Second Class are in red; and Firsts in black. Why?_

 **Not entirely sure,** came the considered reply. **SOLDIER was created some time before my birth. By the time I got in, the traditions were already well established. And to be fair, no one really wanted to ask President Shinra or any of the scientists too many questions.**

Hermione shrugged as she quietly started for the door. A quick look around confirmed that her four dorm mates were still asleep. No need to wake them and submit to endless questioning. Hermione made her way through the Gryffindor Common Room and slipped out.

"A bit early, young lady, isn't it?" the Fat Lady grumbled as her portrait swung shut over the entrance.

"My apologies, Ma'am. Sadly, I have to train this morning."

"Why? This is not part of your lessons."

Hermione bristled under the inquiry.

 **Careful. The portraits report to the Headmaster, do they not?**

 _You mean to say I won_ _'_ _t have a moment of peace, don't you?_ Hermione grumbled in her mind.

 **Unless you can find a way to get out without passing any portrait** **…**

 _There_ _'_ _s always the window,_ Hermione grouched.

"Actually, it is," the witch-sorceress said suddenly. "I am studying for mastership in shotokan karate, modern wushu, and swordsmanship. I need to keep up my skills and go through the forms every day to perfect them."

With this, Hermione bowed shortly and jogged away. She didn't need to get into an argument with a portrait and she wanted to make sure she would be well away from the Castle by the time the Fat Lady reported to the Headmaster. The young SOLDIER made it to the Entrance Doors without meeting anyone and slipped outside. The fresh morning air brought a smile to her face. It was simply amazing how quickly she had taken to sleeping under the stars, and how much she was missing it now, after just one night spent inside high stone walls.

 **You could always sleep in the Forbidden Forest.**

 _Impractical, Sephiroth. Not to mention definitely against the rules. I_ _'_ _m going to have to toe enough of them as it is._

 **I notice you haven't said you hadn't already thought about it…**

Hermione harrumphed and refused to answer, even in her mind. Instead, she set about jogging around the castle. She would have gone as far as running around the lake, but she didn't want to do that when she was rather sure she would get called in by either the Headmaster or her Head of House. So she just ran around the castle at an easy pace. After her circuit, and as the skies brightened with the rising of the sun, she stood by the Entrance Doors and stretched before working through a couple of the basic kata and taolu, puuting as much force behind the strikes as she could. It wasn't long before she could hear the echoing sounds of some children getting to the Great Hall for breakfast. A quick glance at her watch confirmed that these were the early risers and that she wasn't late. She finished her routine with a few more stretches to warm down before she made for the Great Hall herself.

She went to take the same seat she had commandeered last night, closest to the High Table and facing the rest of the room. She was pretty sure most Slytherins would not try anything while in the Great Hall, but she didn't trust the older students — those capable of casting silently — as far as she could throw them without magic. She inclined her head to the few of her professors already present before she studied the offerings at the breakfast table. She pulled a face at all the greasy food. She supposed she would have to just deal with it for this morning. The sound of a chair scraping along the stone floor made her look up and she saw Professor McGonagall looking her way as she was about to stand, a sheet of parchment in her hand. Hermione quickly made her way to the Head Table.

"Did you need to talk to me, Professor?"

"Yes, I thought that I would give you your schedule immediately since it is evident you will need to return to your dormitory before classes."

Hermione looked down at her SOLDIER uniform then grinned back up at her teacher, unrepentant.

"Sorry, Professor. But not knowing my schedule for the day, and taking into account the fact that I have more exams to fit in later, I thought it would be a good idea to get in my basic training early rather than run the risk of having to do it this evening on top of homework."

She felt the collective gaze of her teachers settle on her, but said nothing more. Minerva arched an eyebrow at her, and the younger witch shrugged and nodded once. Let McGonagall explain if she felt like it. She was back in the wizarding world and people would talk anyway.

"Very well," the Transfiguration Professor said as she handed the parchment over. "I'm pleased to inform you that Professor Tofty has confirmed you have successfully passed your OWLs in Defense and Potions. As such, you are expected in both Professor Snape's and Professor Slughorn's classes at the appointed times."

Hermione pulled off her gloves and quickly looked over the schedule. Double DADA and double Potions in the morning, with the afternoon free. She only started mid-morning tomorrow. And on Thursdays, she only had one period all day, DADA right after lunch. That would be her best weekday to get on with heavy assignments. She also had Friday afternoons off, but with the weekend following she would rather use that time for intense physical training. Then she would have all weekend to recuperate.

"Miss Granger?"

Her Head of House's voice broke through her thoughts.

"My apologies, Professor."

"I was asking about the food, Miss Granger. You seemed unsettled about it both last night and this morning."

Hermione grimaced as she looked down at the table. The professors' dishes definitely looked more appetizing than what was served to the students.

 **They all seem rather worried, Hermione.**

 _I_ _'_ _m the teachers' pet. Being a bookworm and a swot, it was kind of inevitable._

"It's fine. I'll just have to be careful what I eat. Or I'll just go and grovel at the elves' feet and ask for special treatment."

"And why should you receive special treatment, Miss Granger?" Professor Snape growled from his end of the table.

"Never said I should, sir. Just that I would ask. My training requires a diet high in protein but rather low in fat. Bacon, eggs and sausages dripping in oil would defeat the purpose."

Snape snorted and Hermione gleefully smiled at him and ignored his attitude as her Head of House and the rest of the staff watched on.

"What would you require, Miss Granger?"

Hermione chuckled and let a cheeky grin play on her lips. "Can I give you the full list?"

The Transfiguration teacher's lips twitched, and Hermione was pretty sure she was fighting an answering grin.

"Well," Hermione started, "Fruits and vegetables at every meal. Raw veggies preferably, but steamed is okay too. And I'm supposed to eat five different colors each day, so diversity is gladly welcome. Wholegrain bread only, but we usually have some of that at the breakfast table anyway. Meat and fish can be fried, but without oil. Steamed or boiled is better. Baked only if there's no oil in the sauce."

Hermione shrugged as she couldn't think of anything else. Her Head of House chuckled.

"I'll see what I can do."

Hermione nodded and jogged off back to the Gryffindor table, grabbing two pieces of fruit and a slice of toasted brown bread before making her way back to the tower. She rushed through the Common Room, going back to her dorm and to take a quick shower. As she went back down, pulling her black robes over her school uniform, she spied Harry sitting in a chair opposite the fireplace and moved to join him.

"Hey, Hermione."

"Hey. How do you feel on this glorious morning?"

"Fine," Harry chuckled. "I heard you were out early this morning."

"Training,"Hermione shrugged.

She ignored Harry's rather sharp glance and stood in front of him, bouncing on the balls of her feet until he smiled and got up. The witch smiled in turn. Neville and Ron came trouping down the stairs and their little group started for the door.

"Got a question for you though," Hermione asked. "What's with Professor McGonagall and the cane?"

"You don't know?" Neville asked in a rather tense tone.

"I haven't been around since before Easter, Neville," the witch said with a smile.

"Blimey, 'Mione. It made the papers and all. McGonangall was attacked by Umbridge and several Aurors. She took four Stunners to the chest."

Hermione stopped in her tracks and whirled round.

"Say that again," she growled, her eyes flashing green and gold with Mako energy.

All three boys swallowed hard. Hermione tightened her fists.

 **You have yet to master Cure, Hermione. However, it** **'** **s impossible to make a wound worse with this spell, contrarily to your witchling healing powers. And if this wound is beyond a simple Cure, it will at least give the woman relief for a little while.**

"Hermione?"

The witch gritted her teeth, glancing behind the boys and noticing the deadly quiet of the Common room. With a snarl, she turned on the spot and set off back for the Great Hall. She heard the boys calling out for her. But she ignored them as she reached the stairs. She started down the steps at a run and heard the stairs a floor below move, settling themselves in the opposite direction she needed them. The witch growled and vaulted over the stone hand rail, dropping down to the landing below. She continued in that way running down stairs and jumping down a floor if they aligned the wrong way for her. The trip that usually took five to ten minutes was accomplished in just two.

She strode into the Great Hall once more, in the middle of breakfast. Not wanting to cause too much of a scene, she walked behind the Gryffindor table and along the wall, and made her way to the Head Table. This time, all of the professors were seated there. Including Dumbledore. She deliberately ignored the Headmaster as she leaned towards his Deputy.

"May I have another word, Professor McGonagall? In private? It's rather urgent."

The older witch blinked a few times at her, but finished her mouthful, wiped her mouth with her napkin and she stood with help from her cane. She nodded in direction of the side door and Hermione walked ahead of her Head of House, opening the door and waiting for her mentor to catch up and go through before she did herself.

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione placed her right hand on the handle of her wand and lifted her open left hand, palm open and hovering a few inches away from her professor's chest.

" **Cure.** "

The sorceress felt Mako energy answering her call and green light swirled into existence, glowing brightly in the dim antechamber. After a few seconds, it faded away and the Deputy Head gasped softly.

"Let me know if that wasn't enough. I'll do it again if I need to. I just don't know the upper levels of this spell yet."

Hermione turned and walked away immediately, leaving the older witch gaping and staring at her back. The witch-sorceress found an empty classroom and shut herself in it, warding the room so completely than nothing short of the power of a Gaian Summon would breach her defenses.

 **Don** **'** **t lose it now.**

 _They have done it again._

 **We do not have all the facts.**

 _We know enough, Sephiroth. The Ministry of Magic has no regards for Muggles. And Muggleborns are still just the dirt on the bottom of their shoes. The Headmaster couldn_ _'_ _t even be bothered to protect his own._

Hermione paced back and forth around the room. Magic crackled in the air and the temperature dropped, Hermione's breath coming out as a fog.

 **Control yourself. Now is not the time to indulge. We haven** **'** **t got enough intel.**

The witch-sorceress closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She visualized the calm flow of the Lifestream beneath her feet, letting the green waves of light swirl in her mind, soothing her anger. When the young woman opened her eyes once more, the glow of Mako energy only took a few more seconds to fade away, leaving her right eye back to its original honey brown and her left to its new shade of bright forest green. She would bide her time a while longer. But neither the Ministry nor the Death Eaters would escape her wrath once the time to strike arrived.

#

Hermione managed to get to Defense with a few minutes to spare. Harry threw her a worried look, but she only smiled at him. Snickering came from the Slytherins but none of them did more than point at Hermione and sneer. When those actions obviously started to grate on both Harry and Ron's nerves, Hermione smacked both boys on the back of the head, hard. She then pointed to the front of the room, where they should be facing.

"Since I cannot take points from your House as of yet, Miss Granger, you will serve detention with me tonight, for this act of violence towards your fellow house mates. You will come directly after your… remedial exams."

The Slytherins dissolved into more titters and the rest of the Gryffindors winced, but Hermione only bowed her head.

"Yes, Professor Snape."

The man strode through the room and started on his first lesson. The class was soon divided into pairs and given the task to practice non-verbal casting. Hermione ended up with Pansy Parkinson, although she wasn't quite sure just how much of a coincidence it was given that the Slytherin witch had pushed past several people to get to her.

"So I hear you had an interesting summer, Granger."

 **Watch it,** cautioned Sephiroth.

But Hermione sent a mental smirk at her guardian angel, and a shrug to her classmate.

"I must say that the second part was much more to my taste. Would you prefer to take offense or defense first, Parkinson? I really don't mind."

"I'll attack first."

Hermione nodded and took her place. She drew her wand in a reverse grip, keeping the tip of her wand against the length of her forearm and somewhat hidden from the rest of the class as she crossed her arms under her chest. She called on both her magics, layering a **M-Barrier** on top of a Shield spell, and waited. Already, across the classroom, students were whispering incantations, swishing and flicking their wands in various patterns. Few were actually trying to be silent, as Snape had ordered. And of course, Snape ignored that fact from the Slytherins but gleefully berated the Gryffindors.

For the moment, Parkinson seemed to attempt the exercise properly. She kept flicking her wand in Hermione's direction, her lips pressed into a thin line to keep the words of power from leaving her mouth. The witch-sorceress kept most of her attention on the witch facing her. But as Parkinson became more and more flustered, her wand jabbing the air in a fashion that made it rather obvious that she wasn't trying to simply Disarm Hermione anymore, Hermione smiled.

" _Reducto!_ "

Hermione blinked at the jet of blue light smashed against her shield. She noted rather detachedly that her Mako-powered spell had taken the hit and survived without much damage. Shouts of outrage came from the Gryffindor half of the class, and Hermione cast a _silencio_ on her Housemates before they could get themselves in trouble. Although he had not taken the opportunity before, she wouldn't put it past the Head of Slytherin to put Gryffindor House in the negative on the first day of school. Her house mates realized rather rapidly what had happened and most turned to look at her, seeing her smirk back at them.

"Miss Parkinson, you are to disarm your opponent only," came the rather mild voice of Severus Snape.

"I aimed at her feet," was Parkinson's reply.

 **Lie for her.**

 _What?_

 **They are the House of cunning and self-preservation. It means they rely on honor to not stab each other in the back too often. Show her she could count on you against an unfair teacher.**

 _She can't._

 **But she could, were she to approach you in the spirit of a mutually beneficial relationship.**

 _You mean you want me to become friends with her?_

 **I didn't say anything about 'friends', Hermione, I said 'mutually beneficial'.**

 _You would have made a great Slytherin, Sephiroth,_ the witch-sorceress commented not for the first time.

Their mental conversation had taken all of two seconds, and Hermione now took a step forward.

"If you would allow, Professor Snape, Parkinson did aim for the floor." The black gaze of Severus Snape turned to her, and for the first time since the middle of Fifth Year, Hermione met it without fear thanks to the dark angel living in her mind. "I told her my silent shield is near enough perfect nowadays, so she could practice harder spells silently if she wanted. She aimed the simple ones straight at me, but the dangerous ones just in front of my feet."

She couldn't hear the gasps from the silenced Gryffindors, but she could sure feel their stares.

"No one likes a show-off, Miss Granger."

"My apologies, Professor," Hermione sighed. "Just stating the facts."

"Get back to work, all of you. You'll be switching roles in five minutes."

Hermione discreetly removed her Silencing spell from the rest of her housemates, throwing a dark look to all of them before returning her attention to the witch opposite her. With the raise of an eyebrow and the slight incline of her head, Hermione invited her opponent to carry on, all the while reinforcing her shields. It wouldn't do for a spell to come through them now. But Parkinson returned to trying for minor silent spells, sometimes whispering them. Hermione's shields sparked once or twice but nothing much.

Finally, Snape called for the switch. He harassed Harry for a minute, taunting him as he had not managed to cast any offensive silent spells for now. The Slytherins snickered as they were wont to do, although Parkinson abstained. She was looking distinctly pale as she faced Hermione. For her part, the witch-sorceress maintained an impassive face.

 **What about rule number seven?**

 _I am not going to give the girl a demented smile as I_ _'_ _m preparing to curse her, Sephiroth._

 **Why not?**

 _Because contrarily to you, I do not find enjoyment in antagonizing my opponents just because I can._

The one-winged angel chuckled darkly but said nothing more as Snape called for the students to restart. Hermione uncrossed her arms and lowered them to her sides. With a single thought and nary a twitch from the wand against her arm, Parkinson's wand flew from the witch's startled grasp and into Hermione's hand. The Gryffindor witch caught it easily.

"Miss Granger. I said in silence."

Hermione blinked twice as she looked at her teacher. A wicked grin started to twist her lips before she controlled her expression and shrugged. She opened her hand and silently levitated Parkinson's wand within its owner's reach. The Slytherin snatched it out of mid-air. The Gryffindors were looking between their resident bookworm and their teacher expectantly but Hermione knew better than to think he would praise her work. Instead she turned back to Parkinson.

"Ready?"

"How are you doing this wandless?"

"I'm not wandless," Hermione frowned. Then she smiled and twirled her wand into view. "Sorry. I just realized you were expecting me to move so you knew when to cast."

 **No, she didn** **'** **t.**

 _Hush, 't you the one who was just saying we should try to see if we could get her at least partially on our side._

 **False praise will achieve nothing though. You and I both could feel her attempt to reach for her magic.**

 _True. But if you_ _'_ _re right about Slytherin honor, I might get some brownie points by letting Parkinson save face…_

 **Our side… The side of Light?** Sephiroth sneered.

 _No. The side of magic. The side of the Planet._

Her dark guardian had nothing more to say and Hermione settled into a casting stance. Parkinson was watching her wand uneasily. Hermione swished and flicked, and Parkinson's wand came flying to her once more.

"How do you do this?" Parkinson said, with a slight waver in her voice.

"Same way you're going to," Hermione said.

 **Not quite. She** **'** **s no sorceress.**

The witch ignored Sephiroth and lightly lobbed Parkinson her wand back.

"Put it this way. We've been taught to speak our spells as kids because it's easier for children to focus their intents this way. Now you need to go a step beyond. Thinking the spell is not enough, or they'd teach us silent magic from the off. No, you need to want magic to act on your behalf. You need to be prepared to force it if necessary. Imagine that you are all that's standing between your wandless family and the meanest werewolf in the wizarding world. You're the only person who able to stop him."

Hermione took her casting stance once more, and threw the Disarming spell at Parkinson with slow, exaggerated movements. This time, a small flash briefly lit up the room but Parkinson's shield was not powerful enough to block Hermione's spell. Hermione once more gave her wand back to the Slytherin.

"Want me to reduce the strength of my spell while you get the hand of it?"

"What would be the point of that?" Parkinson growled.

"Confidence booster? Hermione shrugged. "Training? Call it what you want, but training at a lower intensity worked for me over the summer."

The witch in green and silver shook her head and Hermione shrugged. They continued with the practical lesson, Hermione disarming Parkinson each and every time. Although to give the Slytherin her due, her silent shield was stronger by the end of their time. For most of the lesson, Hermione had felt Snape's eyes on her. And he was far from the only one. Many of her classmates, from both sides of the room, had taken to watching her when Snape wasn't looking. For their second period together, Snape decided to see just what the lot of them remembered from their lessons from the previous year. The test seemed easy enough to the bookworm Hermione still was. She finished with a full ten minutes to spare but sat without talking or moving as the others struggled to finish. As the bell rang, she stood to give her test paper to the dour professor.

"What time should I come for my detention, sir?"

"Don't you have the afternoon free?"

"Not today, sir. Those periods are used for my remedial tests, as you have previously noted."

"Very well, then eight o'clock sharp."

Hermione nodded and left, with the rest of Gryffindor following.

#

The rest of the day passed without much trouble. Potions had been somewhat interesting, although Hermione wasn't sure she liked the blatant favoritism Slughorn was displaying towards some of the students. Harry's borrowed Potions book seemed rather interesting, given that the corrections allowed him to brew a better potion faster than the established recipe. But Hermione wasn't too worried. After all, she didn't need a NEWT in Potions contrarily to her friends who all wanted to be Aurors. Directly after lunch, she sat her Care of Magical Creatures exams, swiftly followed by her Charms and Tranfiguration exams. Although Professor Tofty said very little, he confirmed with a rather large smile that Hermione had passed all three exams.

Hermione made it to dinner early and took the spot she now thought of as her seat. She took her gloves off, tucking them into her pocket, even as she ignored the Headmaster who was looking in her direction. Once again, she was the very first Gryffindor at the table but the rest of them quickly arrived. Food was served and Hermione was rather happy to see a large dish of steamed white fish with all manners of vegetable around. The witch grinned and took a generous helping.

"Hungry, Hermione?" Harry chuckled from across the table.

"Starved. That and I don't know if the house-elves are going to carry on feeding me proper food. So I'm going to take advantage while I can."

The rest of dinner was spent talking about their first day. Hermione relayed that she had managed to get the three OWLs she had practicals for today, although she didn't know the final scores yet. Neville said he was quite happy Snape wasn't teaching Potions anymore and Ron bemoaned the fact the dark wizard had now take over Defense.

"Hey, Professor McGonagall said you dropped Arithmancy and Runes, but kept Care of Magical Creatures? That true?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Hermione shrugged. "As much as I enjoy theoretical magics, I expect knowledge of magical creatures will be far more useful to me in the long run. And I can always pass those NEWTs later on if I really want to."

Harry nodded slowly, still studying his friend. He seemed about to say more when Ron dragged him into a conversation about Quidditch. Hermione just smiled as she watched her friends talk about their favorite sport.

 **I understand that my knowledge of the sport is somewhat biased because of you, but I really cannot see the point.**

 _Neither can I, Sephiroth. And I_ _'_ _ve had to listen to these conversations for five years._

Hermione finished her food in silence, grabbing a couple of pieces of fruit for dessert before she started on her way to detention. As she walked the halls of Hogwarts, she heard the distinctive footsteps of someone in the corridors. Knowing that most everyone was still in the Great Hall, Hermione slipped her gloves back on before she let her right hand brush along the small of her back and grip the handle of her wand. She continued towards the dungeons, and the other person walked on behind her. As an experiment, Hermione stopped suddenly at the top of the stairs leading to the dungeons and her stalker stumbled to a stop within a few steps.

Now certain that she was being followed, Hermione launched herself forward, running down the steps and even jumping the last few. She rounded a corner, now going away from the main section of the dungeons. She continued running, making several more turns before she stopped and plastered herself against the wall. Her pursuer slowed down when they realized they couldn't hear her anymore. They were now in a largely unused part of the dungeons. Only Filch's office, the entrance to the oubliettes, and a few unused classrooms were around. A single set of footsteps could be heard approaching, a heavy and somewhat shuffling gait. Words grumbled in a deep voice told of an older boy, one whose voice had already broken.

"Where are you, Mudblood?"

Hermione sighed as she recognized the voice.

"What do you want, Crabbe?"

The boy immediately made for the sound of her voice, and Hermione drew her wand took several quick steps back and stood in the middle of the corridor, waiting for her opponent. His shouted stunning spell dissolved harmlessly against her shield and Hermione sneered at the hulking boy.

"My father said he was angry he didn't get a turn at you. Said you moan like a whore once you got going."

The sneering accompanying the words left no doubt as to the boy's meaning.

"Really now. I can't remember your father being invited to these little parties. Actually, I didn't think he was high enough in the ranks to even have heard of them."

Crabbe charged at with a snarl, and Hermione sneered as she knocked him back ten feet with a simple flick of her wand. The young wizard landed flat on his back but found his feet quickly enough.

"Come on, Mudblood. Don't you want a piece of a real man?"

Hermione only scoffed and Crabbe growled as he got up and came at her again. This time, Hermione let him approach. Once he stepped within range, she delivered a vicious side kick to his chest and grabbed him by the throat, cutting off his air supply as she pushed him up and against a wall until his toes barely grazed the floor.

"I've been with real men," Hermione sneered. "What makes you think you would compare?"

The boy gasped and spluttered, clawing at the gloved hand wrapped around his throat. Hermione watched as his lips started to turn blue. Then she dropped him to the floor. For good measure, she lifted her foot and brought it down on his knee with measured force — hard enough to stop him from walking properly for the next couple of hours, but not enough to actually do permanent damage. The boy's scream echoed through the dark corridors of the dungeons all the same.

"Tell this to the Death Eaters. They should have made damn sure to de-claw this lioness. Because now, she's coming after them. And I don't care really who I have to kill to get to them. So if I were you, I'd stay out of the way. And I'd tell the rest of Slytherin to do the same."

Hermione turned back the way she had come and left without a backward glance.

#

Hermione made it to Professor Snape's office with plenty of time to spare. Somehow, she wasn't surprised that the dour Potion Master was still holding court in the dungeons. It was somewhat practical for him, given that he was still Head of Slytherin. She didn't have to wait too long before she heard the dark wizard approaching. But she was rather surprised to see her own Head of House accompanying him. Snape gestured for both witches to enter his office before he tightly warded the space against eavesdropping and people barging in.

"I wanted to speak to the two of you together," Minerva said by way of explanation as she conjured a seat for herself.

"So you're the reason Professor Snape grabbed the first reason he had to give me a detention," Hermione chuckled.

"No, he did that on his own. I think we both know Professor Snape need no excuse to punish Gryffindor." Minerva sent a half-playful glare at the Slytherin Head, who returned the look with his usual impassiveness. "But I think he needs to hear what happened over the summer."

Hermione winced as she sat into the hard wooden seat reserved for the students.

"Err… Minerva? I'm sure he knows. Probably more than you do, even though I told you."

"I meant with the sorcery, Hermione."

The younger witch blinked and shrugged.

"I thought you'd tell him if you thought he needed to know."

"But I wanted you to be here. This is not something that should be explained lightly."

Professor Snape had been silent until then. But he sighed rather loudly, causing both witches to turn and look at him.

"If we could actually get on with this…"

Hermione half smiled, not intimidated in the slightest.

 **That would be because of me, young one,** Sephiroth crowed.

"Fine. When I escaped… Well, I actually still don't know where I was, but I escaped because I'm a sorceress. I've been training that side of my powers over the summer. Not much else to say, really. I'm still learning. I intend to get through my hit list as soon as I'm able."

Snape and McGonagall both blinked, and Hermione shrugged once more, unrepentant.

"So you will try to stand up to the Dark Lord?" Snape finally sneered.

"No 'try' to it, Professor. I have all the advantages. Whether or not you are working for him or Dumbledore or even yourself, it makes no difference to me because you won't be able to tell either of them much more than that. I don't trust Dumbledore as far as I can throw him. I had reservations about my parents already, and no way to protect them. I would have asked for help. But the way the Headmaster has been handling the situation with Harry and his extended family has never sat well with me. Psychological abuse is abuse all the same."

Hermione stopped herself there at the looks on her teachers' faces. Whether Harry spoke of it or not, it was his choice. And she would respect it. Even as she would push him to do so. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Anyway," the sorceress continued, "I didn't expect he would do anything. And I knew it would be futile to involve the Ministry. First, they didn't want to believe that the Dark Lord was back. And second, Muggles don't have any rights according to them. I was going to try and talk them into disappearing over the summer. Going to ground until the war had eased, maybe. Send them to the US, or maybe Australia…"

Hermione shook her head and just shut her eyes tight for a moment. She felt Sephiroth's mind shift within her own, and the ghost of a caress brushed against her cheek.

 **Revenge is a dish best served cold.**

 _Ice cold,_ Hermione agreed.

She swallowed back her tears and met her professors' gazes. She was grateful to see only sadness in her Head of House's eyes, and not pity. Professor Snape was as difficult to read as ever, but she doubted he would pity a Gryffindor anyway.

"What do you intend to do, Miss Granger?" asked the dark wizard.

"About what?"

"The Dark Lord. And the Death Eaters, for that matter. I know enough about Gryffindors to realize that lying low is not part of your plans."

"I'm not sure," Hermione shrugged. "Right now, I will focus on my training. Mastering my sorcery will only help in the long run. I have no idea what the Dark Lord is planning to do. I have no idea what Dumbledore is doing either. All I know is that I will not fall in with either of their expectations. I will learn witchcraft from you and the rest of the staff, and sorcery from Sephiroth. I will protect Harry the best I can. And when the time comes, I will fight."

Hermione's ominous words echoed strangely in her defense professor's office, the feel of magic heavy in the air and nearly as intense as when a magical vow was witnessed. Minerva and Snape exchanged a look but said nothing. There was little they could have said, after all. Both knew better than to try and change the mind of the younger woman facing them. Suddenly, a shimmer of green energy sparkled in the middle of the room and dark smoke materialized in the midst of it before solidifying into the shape of Umbra the shadowcreeper. The unearthly being pranced like a puppy to his mistress and came to sit at her feet, holding in his beaky muzzle a long arrow fletched with silvery feathers.

"Please tell me you didn't steal this from an unsuspecting centaur," Hermione laughed even as she took the arrow from her summon's mouth.

Umbra batted at her hand, careful to avoid touching her with his wickedly sharp talons. The shadowcreeper then melted back into the Lifestream in a sparkle of Mako energy mixed with black smoke.

"What was that?" came Snape's question.

Hermione turned an overly cheerful look towards her teacher.

"That was Umbra. He's my first summon."

Snape blinked but said nothing more and Hermione took to twirl the arrow she was now holding between her fingers.

"Do you think I should go to the forest and try to find the owner?"

"This is an offer for parley," Minerva said. "When the Centaurs need to speak to Hogwarts, they usually send one of these flying through the window of the Headmaster's office."

Hermione blinked a few times then shrugged before tucking the arrow away. She'd send them a message to meet in the morning a bit later.

"Let's get you back to Gryffindor Tower, Miss Granger," Minerva said as she waved her student towards the door.

"What about my detention?"

"You came, Professor McGonagall made a fuss, five points were taken, you left," Snape said in his bored drawl.

"All right," Hermione said as she stood and started to the entrance. "But I think I should tell you. Crabbe tried to corner me before I arrive. He might still be sprawled in a nearby corridor. One way or the other, bruise paste for his ribs and knee might be in order."

Hermione left the room before the professors even had the time to think about taking points or assigning detention. She laughed as she ran most of the way back to her bed.

#

AN: I've worked hard to post this early for you guys because I've got a piece of news, good for me maybe not so much for you... I've got myself a second job. My children are delighted with the prospective increase in pocket money. I suspect you guys might be less so as there's a greater chance of me going AWOL after this post until I settle down in my new routine.

I'm still writing the last part of this story. If anyone is interested in co-writing the end, just let me know. This way there's a greater chance of me making more time for fanfic writing.


	7. Settling Down

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER SEVEN

Settling Down

#

Over the next few days, Hermione developed a routine of sorts. She would start her day with a light jogging session, enough to wake her up but not enough to require a long bath to soothe burning muscles. She would shower quickly then get down to breakfast. She would ignore the jibes from the Slytherins. The house elves seemed happy enough to accommodate her tastes, providing her with plenty of fruit along with some much needed protein in the form of - surprisingly enough - soya milk. She wasn't sure how the elves had known about the, to be fair, rather Muggle product but she wasn't about to complain. The rest of her mornings were dedicated to witchcraft, as she either had lessons or time off that she chose to spend getting her homework done. Lunch would come and go, the afternoon lessons and whatever additional homework dispatched as quickly as she could manage, and she would then start on sorcery training.

With Sephiroth's help, she had started to learn how to **sense** the strengths and weaknesses of a potential enemy using sorcery. The advanced levels of her other spells were still beyond her most of the times though she had managed to cast a **blizzara** spell once, so she knew it wasn't an unachievable goal. Admittedly, it helped that she had an affinity for ice sorcery.

"What I want is to sit down with a list of the spells and decide which would be the most useful for me to know," Hermione said on the first Friday of the school term. "Of course, I want to learn all of the elemental Mako-spells if I can, since witchcraft is not conducive to pointing a finger and having someone struck by lightning. But I want to know just what can Mako do!"

Sephiroth's spirit form stood in the Room of Requirement, watching his student pace the length of the rather large training room they had been gifted by Hogwarts. It had been rather strange at first for the two of them to face each other in the physical realm. The only time it had happened before was in the Lifestream.

"I can give you the list. But you need to remember that sorcery is different than the way I used magic back on Gaia. We've already come across some of the differences."

"Yes, I know. Where Gaian materia offered knowledge of spells within one sub-component of magic, the Terran materia will learn any spell their owner teaches them within a class."

"Although your wand is different and will let you teach it cross-class spells for some reason."

Hermione shrugged and nodded. She was no wand maker. Any theory she could come up with about why the materia within her wand would allow that would just be a guess.

"Tell me about the Terran materia classes."

Hermione rolled her eyes upward but recited the list anyway. "Command materia will allow you to learn abilities that can actively be used in combat. The magic class deals with offensive, enhancing, restorative, and debilitating spells. The support materia allow the user to boost certain of their abilities and this class includes those materia that were classified as independent on Gaia. The individual materia class is a bit special since it doesn't hail back from Gaia but is a Terran addition. Where you guys could naturally develop special attacks, we Terran sorcerers need to create spells that will allow our magics and our physical abilities to work together at high levels."

Sephiroth nodded and Hermione rolled her head sideways even as she watched the fire flicker within the fireplace. It emitted no heat, which was a good thing considering the unseasonal warmth Hogwarts was enjoying at this moment.

"Well, do we agree that you should know more than just attack spells?" Sephiroth asked, getting back to the subject at hand.

"Of course. That's why I want to learn the **Restore** -based magics."

"Well in that case, we should at the very least add the **Heal** and **Time** magics to your arsenal. And maybe **Seal** while we're at it."

Hermione whirled on Sephiroth.

"You can control time?"

"I can. And I think it's something you should learn too. Because if I'm not mistaken, neither witches nor wizards can do this without the help of an external device."

"A Time Turner," Hermione whispered. "That's what they're called."

"Don't get any ideas," Sephiroth immediately cautioned. "Time magics are greatly limited. Back on Gaia, **haste** would only work for one minute at best, **slow** less than half that time and **stop** would only last thereabout of ten seconds. And all would only affect up to three designated targets, not the entire world. It's up to you to create the greatest advantage possible in the limited time offered by those magics. And there is absolutely no chance of traveling backward or forward across long stretches of time."

Hermione stretched her hands skyward, grunting as several of her vertebrae snapped back into alignment.

"But we already know that some things are different here than they were on Gaia. I mean, from what I gather from our talks, the most you guys could do with the elemental spells was bash someone on the head with them. I can manipulate the spells with different results."

And Hermione called upon a low-powered **blizzard** to create an icicle that she then shaped into a rose. Sephiroth smiled from his side of the room. It was true that no SOLDIER had ever had so much control over their magic.

"I think it's time for you to get back to your friends."

Hermione blinked. Her head dropped forward and her eyes closed even as she brought her hands up, holding her broadsword so the flat of the blade was pressed to her forehead. The weapon shimmered with Mako energy and, in a bright flash of green, disappeared. The SOLDIER smirked as she opened her eyes. She drew her wand, studying the wooden and silver weapon for a few moments, wondering if the growing pulse she could feel from it meant something more. Her black-winged angel had hinted at the fact her wand had the potential to turn into a sword similar to Masamune… Hermione shook her head then banished it back to its sheath at her back. There would be time for this later. She smiled at Sephiroth then turned for the door, the silver-haired warrior dissipating in the Lifestream to return to his place within her mind.

The two of them made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Hermione was not too keen on this, but she had little choice. She spoke the password to the Fat Lady and stepped into the common room and straight into mayhem. Children were shouting and laughing and making all sorts of weird animal noises. Fay Dunbar looked rather lost, standing in the middle of the room and watching the scene unfold as she held her wand by her side. Hermione knew for a fact that the Seventh-Year Prefects weren't around, as most of that year group had been heading for the Library before she'd even gone to start her own studying with Sephiroth. Ron and the Fifth-Year Prefects were taking part in the mayhem themselves, and so couldn't help to regulate any of it. As her year mate turned to look at her, a rather desperate look in her eyes, Hermione sighed.

"You want a hand?"

"I would prefer if you said you'll take your job back," Fay said with a small, hopeful smile.

"Not a chance. Between training and homework, I barely have enough time to sleep. How long have they been at it?"

"About three hours. The Seventh Years chose to leave early to get their homework done in peace. You know how the first Friday evening gets around here."

Hermione smiled and nodded. She'd only been a Gryffindor for five years. Curfew was coming and it would be best to start wrapping things up now. Minerva would have no compunction taking a large amount of points away from her own House if she needed to. And so, Hermione put her fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. The sound echoed in the room and every face turned in her direction. The ex-Prefect turned to look at her successor and Fay smiled slightly at her.

"Let's start wrapping this up before our Head of House decides she needs to step in."

There were a few grumbles but everyone started to tidy up the room. Hermione tapped Fay on the shoulder and the girl smiled back. Hermione made her way to her dormitory, skilfully avoiding Harry and Ron as they started towards her. She took the steps two-by-two and made for the bathroom. A quick shower later, she sat on her bed plaiting her brown and silver hair. As she heard many footsteps starting up the stairs, she thought Fay might have managed to completely break up the party. With a small sigh, she pulled the curtains close around her bed and let herself fall back on the soft pillows.

 **Hiding is not an effective way to deal with the situation, Hermione.**

 _What situation, Sephiroth? And I_ _'_ _m not hiding._

 **You are avoiding all of your friends. And they will start to wonder why.**

 _They_ _'_ _re children,_ Hermione sighed.

 **So are you.**

 _Not anymore. But they have a chance to keep their innocence for a year or two longer_ _…_

Sephiroth said nothing more and Hermione slowly dropped off to sleep as she listened to her dorm mates moving about the room.

The following morning saw Hermione up at the crack of dawn. After a good stretch, she pulled on her SOLDIER uniform and was off, walking down to the Entrance Hall and then outside for her morning jog. She wasn't even put off by the drizzling rain that fell across the Scottish mountainside. Given that this was Saturday, she pushed herself, running around Black Lake twice and waving at the few centaurs she saw hanging by the edge of the forest. Another hour was spent running through the basic kata and taolu she knew before she continued with the harder sets of both karate and wushu forms. She was determined to go back to Lin during the holiday and earn her black sash. But for now, Sephiroth was the only one who could correct her moves and the SOLDIER happily performed this task. She repeated the taolus several times each at the slowest speed, until the silver-haired warrior was satisfied she had grasped the nuances behind arm and leg positions. She had no one to spar with, but she practiced the fighting versions of each forms as best she could, increasing the speed and force behind each move until her muscles were burning and sweat as well as rain was sticking her red wool top to her body. This was how Neville and Luna found her, practicing hitting a tree trunk with her forearms and her open palms.

"Harry and Ron have been looking for you, Hermione," the younger witch said as she skipped forward.

The Ravenclaw gathered Hermione in her arms for a quick, tight hug and then started to pull her back towards the Castle.

"Ron said that they haven't seen much of you this week," the flighty younger witch continued, "and I offered to come get you. It sounded like they didn't know where to find you. They said they checked the Library but you weren't there."

"I've been out here all morning," Hermione said with a blink.

"I know," Luna replied. "I told them they were being silly, not to look out here. Ron didn't seem to believe you would be outside in this weather."

Somehow, Hermione was pretty sure that Ron had not used those words when talking about it. A quick glance at Neville's frowning face confirmed that. But Luna continued pulling her along, and Hermione let herself be dragged back indoors. Lunch in the Great Hall had already been served and Luna happily skipped towards Hermione's spot at the Gryffindor table. The witch-sorceress noted that the chatter from all four tables seemed to decrease as she walked through the room, dripping water everywhere.

 **They** **'** **re not the only ones to be taking notice, Hermione. Your teachers are too.**

Sephiroth's words had the witch checking out the High Table from behind the long strands of wet hair hiding her eyes. The staff was indeed watching her approach, some not even bothering to mask their stares. Dumbledore's piercing blue gaze studied her from an oblique glance as he spoke to Professor Flitwick who was seated on his left.

"Hey, are you all right, 'Mione?" Harry asked in a low tone as he stood.

"Sure. Why?"

"Well, you're rather wet."

Hermione blinked then looked down at her clothes. She looked back at Harry with a slight smile.

"Yeah… That's usually what happens when you spend time outside while it's raining. Because, you know, rain is water… And water is wet."

Hermione's dry delivery had Neville coughing behind her to cover his sudden attack of chuckles. Ginny and Ron had no such concerns and they both laughed out loud. Harry cracked a little smile as he pulled out Hermione's seat for her. With a slight shake of her head and a half smile to her friends, Hermione sat down for lunch. And for a moment, she forgot about the darkness rising outside the walls of the school.

#

Hermione's new routine continued over the next week. She spent most of her time either in lessons or training outside. She still made some time to talk with her friends, such as when Harry reported back to her and Ron about his first meeting with Dumbledore. But she could tell everyone in Gryffindor Tower was wary of her. She knew that her teachers had noticed the changes in her too. Her homework was done on time, as it always had been, but was now rarely more than the bare minimum length. Her professors could not complain, as the level of her work was still consistently above that of her year mates — and even above the level of the NEWTs students in some occasions. But she never asked for extra credit work anymore. And if a year mate asked for help, she would give them a list of topics or books that would help their research and send them on their way.

Ron took exception to this new behavior just two weeks in. The trio had gone through the Quidditch tryouts and the boys' first visit to Hagrid's — since Harry, Ron, and Neville had all dropped Care of Magical Creatures. Hermione was chomping at the bit to go and put in a long training session before she had to go and make pretty with the members of the Slug Club. But Ron cornered her as soon as they got back from the Quidditch pitch and before she could even put one foot onto the stairs leading to her dormitory.

"Hey, 'Mione. Have you finished your Defense essay for Snape?"

"Yes," came the wary reply, as Hermione could already guess at the rest of the conversation.

Harry and Neville both shook their heads at Ron, having already understood that the days of leaning on Hermione to do more than explain a few basic points from their lessons were over. But their red-headed compatriot only smiled at their female friend.

"Great! Can you help me?"

"Sure," the witch sighed.

A wave of her wand summoned several sheets of Muggle paper.

"My research notes and the bibliography I used."

Hermione dropped the papers in front of Ron and made to turn away but the wizard grabbed her wrist. Hermione jumped and it was only Sephiroth's self-control and soothing thoughts that allowed Ronald Weasley to keep his hand attached to his wrist.

"Come on, 'Mione. We need you to help with that Defense essay," Ron said as he pointed in turns at Harry, Neville, and himself.

The other two wizards shook their heads and stepped well away from the blast radius, making it clear they didn't expect anything from Hermione. But Ron ignored that subtle warning and turned what he probably thought was an irresistible cute puppy look. Hermione shook her head though then shook her wrist free before she pointed at the papers on the table.

"And I have. I have given all the tools you need. My research notes. In there, you'll find most of everything you need to write your essay."

"Can't you just show us your essay?" the red head whinged.

"And let you copy it word for word? Not a chance, Ron."

"Then why won't you just look at what we've written like before?"

"Because I've got more important things to do."

"What? Like your 'training'. No one needs training that much."

"Doesn't your favorite Quidditch team train every day, and for several hours?"

"That's different."

"Yeah, it is. Quidditch's a game. I'm training to take on the Death Eaters."

The very mention of Voldemort's underlings brought a tense silence to the common room. Furtive glances watched as the scene unfolded. Hermione's Second Class SOLDIER outfit had become a somewhat regular sight in the Gryffindor commons. Whenever she wasn't in her school uniform, this was what the witch was wearing. No one had had the guts to approach her about it. Just as no one had wanted to ask about what had happened to her at the end of the previous year.

"But you can't take on the Death Eaters. Just look at what happened last year. And you still haven't tried to sort it out. I mean, I'm sure that Madam Pomfrey would be able to do something."

Hermione straightened suddenly, teeth grinding in an effort to suppress the words threatening to spill out of her mouth. Ginny Weasley had no trouble speaking out though.

"You prat!"

Her Bat-Bogey hex slammed into her brother's face but Hermione turned away before she could see the spell in action. She marched out of the common room without a backward glance. When voices called her back, the Gryffindor witch made for the staircases and put her training into action, jumping over the railings and dropping from one floor down to the next. Several people seemed startled by the blur of dark red rushing past them. But no one recovered fast enough to stop her or even just call out to her. The witch with the silver-streaked hair was out through the Entrance Doors just a couple of minutes after leaving the Gryffindor common room.

She ran at top speed around the lake. Once on the farther shore from Hogwarts, Hermione stopped. She leaned forward with her hands on her knees, breathing deeply more to calm herself than because she was out of breath.

 **Your friend sounds like a handful.**

 _I never realized just how much they used me until now. I used to basically review each and every piece of their homework for bad spelling and erroneous facts._

 **And you won** **'** **t do that anymore?**

 _I have no more time for messing about, Sephiroth._

 **You could make the time. No one forces you to take on the Death Eaters.**

Hermione snorted loudly, not caring that anyone could have seen her. She withdrew her wand, studied the length of wood in her hand. She reversed the grip on her weapon, the tip coming to rest against her forearm. A tingle spread along her fingers and up her arm as her magics merged at her call. But still, no blade came forth from the wand.

 **Training** , Sephiroth simply said.

Hermione shrugged and returned her wand to her sheath.

A thought to the Lifestream brought yet another replica of the SOLDIER training broadsword to her hand, the length of steel shimmering into existence. With a loud snarl, she lunged forward, stabbing the blade into the chest of an invisible foe. She crouched and turned with a leg out, swiping another unseen opponent from their feet. The motions continued, Hermione punching and stabbing, blocking and deflecting, dodging and jumping over imaginary attacks. Her sword glistened in the early autumn sun.

Before long, she was sweaty and out of breath. But she carried on, adding flicks and slash of her right wrist as she cast pretend witchcraft spells at her opponents. Open-palm strikes from her left hand became Mako-powered spells in her mind as she adapted the kata and taolu she had learned over the summer to include the use of magic. Sephiroth shared the wealth of his knowledge with his apprentice, letting images of all the First Class SOLDIERs play across the backdrop of her mind and showing her the moves her predecessors had developed.

"Hey."

Hermione sighed as she held her stance, crouched on one leg and the other extended to her side, her arms mirroring the positions of her legs, one hand opened, the other holding her sword above her head. She blinked once and looked over her shoulder at Harry. The wizard just stood there, a frown on his face.

"Since when do you know kung fu?"

Hermione snorted. She inhaled as she rose from her flat stance, bringing her open hand over her head. And she exhaled as she stood still and brought both her arms down, hand and sword lowering in front of her and coming to a stop level with her heart. She bowed to her invisible sparring partners and turned back to face Harry.

"It's not _kung fu_. It's _wushu_ ," Hermione said as she wiped her hand across her face. A thought send her broadsword back to the Lifestream. If Harry was surprised by the bright green lights that swirled around her for a moment, he made no comment.

"What's the difference?"

"Wushu is the general name of the Chinese martial arts. Kung fu roughly translates to 'skill achieved through hard work'. It could apply to studying transfiguration just as well as studying a martial art."

Harry nodded once but stood there unmoving for a long while and Hermione waited.

"Are you really planning to fight the Death Eaters?"

"Well, are you planning to run away and hide when Voldemort finally makes a move against you?"

Harry shook his head and so Hermione smiled a little and shrugged.

"Then yes, I will fight the Death Eaters. Because you can rest assured that Voldemort will not suddenly get in touch with you to arrange a one-on-one duel. He'll attack with the back-up of his most loyal and powerful followers. And I will hold them back from you while you deal with their master."

Harry's mouth dropped open. He worked his jaw up and down a few times, trying and failing to find the words he was looking for. He blinked and swallowed hard as a tear escaped his control and rolled down his face. Hermione stood immobile for a few seconds then she opened her arms to her brother in all but blood. And Harry threw himself into her embrace.

#

Just an hour later saw Hermione called into her Head of House's office. She wasn't exactly surprised to see Professor Snape there too and she nodded a greeting at both her teachers before she took her seat across the desk.

"Are you planning to go to Slughorn's party?" Minerva asked.

"I've been invited," Hermione shrugged.

Her Head of House nodded before she leaned back into her seat, watching her student from above her glasses.

"Miss Granger, it has come to my attention that you seem… different."

Hermione made a sound between a huff and a snort and waited for the Deputy Head to get to the point. But it was her Defense teacher who spoke next.

"You are attracting attention, Miss Granger. Your changes in… routines, both academic and personal, are being noticed."

"Let them notice," Hermione scoffed loudly. "Let them report to their parents. Better yet, Professor Snape. I hereby grant you my permission, should you think you need it, to use the information to your advantage as a spy. It won't change a thing. The Death Eaters will get a nasty shock when they try to get to Harry."

"It's not just the Death Eaters. Dumbledore and the rest of the staff have seen the changes too. You hand in the bare minimum of homework at each lesson, you don't ask for extra credits, you only visit the Library to take out books, you never study there unless your common room or the Great Hall become too busy for your liking… The list goes on, Miss Granger."

"And have my marks suffered from this new behavior?" Hermione asked with an edge of steel within her voice.

Snape actually made to speak again, but Minerva stopped him.

"No, Miss Granger. Your marks have not suffered."

"Then why is this anyone else's business?"

"The staff has seen you behave in a certain fashion for close to the past five years," Snape started again. "The sudden change is worrying."

Hermione shrugged. "They'd be right to be worried."

Both older magic users blinked and Hermione rolled her eyes at them but she said nothing more.

"What do you mean, Miss Granger?" the dark wizard asked.

The young witch waved a hand in the air and dismissed the matter.

"Was this all? Because I do still have an essay to work on as well as my weekend training to go through."

The two teachers exchanged a long look, and Minerva finally sighed and dismissed her favorite student. Hermione left as fast as she could manage without looking like she was running away.

#

After the little fight with Ron and the run in with the Professors, Hermione felt like she could neither handle the Slug Club dinner, nor stay in Gryffindor Tower for any amount of time. She drew the curtains close around her bed then layered all matters of obvious and painful spells on the fabrics to discourage anyone from 'disturbing her'. She sneaked out to the Hospital Wing. There, she turned on the charm and begged Madam Pomfrey for a headache relief potion. She then summoned an owl and asked it to deliver a note to Professor Slughorn, apologizing profusely for the short notice but she wouldn't be able to make this dinner as she was feeling exceedingly unwell and would go to bed straight after coming back from seeing the school matron.

Her back covered, she then made her way into the Forbidden Forest. Although the centaurs had more or less officially welcomed her, she still tracked one of them down to warn them of her presence within their territory. They in turn told her that Professor Snape was out and about, gathering potion supplies for the school. The witch-sorceress thanked her allies for the warning, but proceeded to the clearing she had marked out for herself anyway. Hermione sat in the middle of the small clearing, leaning back against her hands and watching the slowly darkening skies above.

 **What exactly is it you intend on doing?**

 _Summon you._

Hermione's answer was met only with silence and the young witch could not help but laugh out loud, startling some of the local wildlife in the process.

 _Now, explain to me how you used to call upon your summon,_ Hermione said with the remnants of her laughter still bright in her tone.

 **It** **'** **s not that simple,** Sephiroth sighed. **On Gaia, we would gather the Lifestream and refine it into Mako.**

 _The liquid and highly concentrated version of the Lifestream. I know that part, Sephiroth._

 **Mako could crystallize through either a long natural process or through a faster artificial process developed by Shinra. These crystals are materia, and the most common way to use magic on Gaia.**

 _But you and the other First Class were a bit different._

 **Genesis, Angeal, and I might have been able to tap into the Lifestream on our own if we had learned how, yes. This is because of the Jenova cells we were infused with through various means. Aerith could use magic without the aid of materia because she was a descendant of the Cetras. Zack and Cloud, although Mako-infused as were all of the SOLDIER members including my friends and I, made it to First Class through sheer skill. They were later infused with my own cells, and although it is debatable whether this would have allowed them to tap into the Lifestream on their own, there is little doubt in my mind that it made them that much stronger.**

Hermione straightened from her reclining pose and crossed her legs in front of her. With her back straight and her wrists supported by her knees, she probably looked like she was meditating.

 _How were the spells triggered?_

 **Through what your teachers would call** **'** **intent'. The holder of the materia would link his mind to said materia. The process was more or less automatic, as a materia would attune itself to whoever sought to use it. As long as it was nearby, a simple thought would be enough to trigger the associated power. SOLDIERs learned early on to link a verbal command to their thought-patterns in order to prevent accidental use.**

 _Like we are taught verbal spells before we have to switch back to silent casting._

 **Yes, I suppose it is similar. Using a summon materia required a greater amount of power. But the problem we will be faced with is that you have no materia to trigger the summon.**

 _Beside the one in my wand, you mean._

 **Yes. Beside that one. You have somehow attracted Umbra to you. But it** **'** **s not as if the shadowcreeper can explain to us how it came to us.**

Hermione blinked and nodded.

 _Maybe I can just concentrate and speak your name._

 **But I am already here, Hermione,** Sephiroth teased and Hermione laughed softly.

The young witch-sorceress stretched her arms above her head then replaced her wrists on her knees, hands dangling below. She took a slow breath and closed her eyes. She let herself drift into a slight meditative trance until she could feel the energy of the Lifestream around and within her.

"Good evening, sorceress."

Hermione startled and shot to her feet. In front of her was a tall woman with blue-tinged skin. She wore an armor made of black and white ice, and icicles formed a tall crown upon her head. Cold emanated from her very being and Hermione watched warily as frost crept along the clearing's ground as a result of the spirit's presence.

 **Shiva.**

"Yes, Sephiroth. And I believe your name is Hermione."

 **The empress of ice,** Sephiroth said.

The woman bowed her head slightly.

"Spirits on Earth have a far greater degree of freedom than I have ever experienced. And so, I have chosen to follow Umbra's example today. Though you have not summoned me, here I am."

Hermione blinked as she looked up at the spirit.

"Why are you here?"

"To help. The spirit world is in turmoil, just as your wizarding world is. And although the spirits of Gaia have strived to be forgotten by most, I choose to stand against the darkness once more."

"What do you mean?"" Hermione asked.

The ice spirit frowned as she looked down at the frosty ground.

"I know not," Shiva admitted. "The spirit world has felt… unbalanced for a long time now. The flow of the Lifestream has been corrupted. Many have fought to find the reason for this, the source of the disturbance. But to my knowledge, none have. We know however that to keep things as they are is to condemn this planet to death."

The ice spirit returned her pale blue gaze to the sorceress before her.

"The Gaian spirits may be summoned through great strength of magic and will. But we like to challenge those who would attempt to use us without care."

Hermione nodded. Warning received: the Gaian summon would make her work for it, just as they would anyone else.

"However, I can align myself with you. And I choose to do so now. You are an ice sorceress, after all, and I am a guardian of ice. If your need is great enough, you may call for me. And I might even answer if I deem the situation worthy of my attention."

 **Who else made it across?** Sephiroth asked.

"Ifrit and I rarely travel without the other. I have heard talks of Odin and Alexander roaming the lands at times. And I have seen Leviathan once within the Lifestream. Any of them might be willing to lend you their power, should you convince them of your need."

 **But will they answer if Hermione simply calls?**

"No. I can because of our shared affinity for ice in this world. The others would require Hermione to use a materia to channel her sorcery to them."

"But Umbra answers my calls. And he's from Gaia," Hermione said.

"No. The shadowcreeper is very much a Terran spirit. Although it came from Gaia with us, a nebulous left over from the Sephiroth's remnants and the Geostigma, it took form on Earth. And as such became a Terran spirit. It falls under the Terran rules for summoning."

 **I thought it strange that none of the Gaian spirits had attempted to contact me but Umbra had reached out to Hermione,** Sephiroth commented.

"You are not a spirit as such, Sephiroth. Though I suppose you may become one, eventually."

"Shiva?" Hermione interceded. "You spoke of an imbalance in the spirit world. Can you explain more?"

"I cannot. As I mentioned, we otherworld spirits have chosen not to get involved unless invoked by name and power. And so, we have little idea of what has been happening within your physical realm. Or even how the Terran spirits choose to respond to the requests of sorcerers here. But we know something is interfering between the spiritual and physical realms. And it threatens to tear both worlds apart the longer it goes on."

"I can't be the only sorceress with an ice affinity," Hermione protested.

"True. But the reason I chose to speak with you is simple," Shiva continued. "At this moment in time, you are the only one with an inkling of the true potential of the Lifestream. With your access to Sephiroth and his knowledge, you have the greatest chance to learn what is happening and fix the problem before it becomes irreversible. You are quite simply my best option. I do not wish to move to another planet quite so soon. If you help with my problem, I shall help with yours."

Shiva held out her hand to the young witch facing her. Hermione studied the extended hand of the ice spirit before she took it and they shook on their strange partnership.

"Summon me when you feel the need. And even the others. But remember that they are a powerful otherworld spirit. Where you can summon Umbra and even myself by thought alone, it will require much more energy to deal with my compatriots."

The lady in blue shimmered in the green lights of the Lifestream before she disappeared.

 **That went well.**

Hermione blinked at Sephiroth's comment. Flashes of the general's memories, showing him and others such as Zach and Cloud fighting and besting the spirits to submit them to their wills, told Hermione that it had indeed gone very well.

"Tell me something. Why is it that each time I try to get a bead on how to summon you, I end up with another spirit attached to me?"

Sephiroth chose not to answer, and Hermione sighed before she stood and started on her way back to the castle.

#

A N: I am so beat. Never thought working in an office would be so tiring. And the travel is making it kind of worse. Thank you to everyone who has wished me well in the new job!

I decided to take advantage of a momentary lull in work and training for work to edit and post this. You'll probably still find errors in there... Hope you'll like this chapter! My next posting will probably be a chapter for Path of Power, so followers of this story will probably have to wait a couple of months for an update. I swear, I'll try to post sooner, but without a laptop or tablet, I can't use travel time as writing time at the moment.

See you all soon!


	8. Friendships, Old and New

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER TWO

Friendships, Old and New

#

Over the next few days, Hermione pushed herself ever harder to control her sorcery. The blinding headaches and excessive tiredness accompanying her early uses of Mako spells receded until she could cast several times in a row and still be fine. She learned to use Mako in short bursts of power and use witchcraft to sustain her sorcery's initial effects. A low-powered **blizzard** cast on a towel, followed by a quick stasis charm, made for an excellent and long-lasting cold compress — which was very useful at the end of a grueling training session. She had noticed that, as her energy levels had increased after she'd started her physical training over the summer, her magical levels — both for witchcraft and sorcery — were steadily rising as she learned to master her powers. It also helped that her stamina had grown, leading her to be able to keep going longer if she needed to.

Since the incident with Ron in the common room, the rest of Gryffindor House seemed to tread on eggshells around Hermione. She was both delighted to not have to answer stupid questions every five minutes, and despondent to have lost a lot of the camaraderie from years past. Ron was still grumpy about the fact his best girl friend continued to refuse him the use of her essays. And so he continued to comment on her gray hair, her weird green eye, and the scar on her face. Harry found himself stuck between his two best friends. Remembering the feeling from two years ago, Hermione just let him be. Besides, he had enough troubles between the strange lesson Dumbledore had given him at the beginning of the year, his sudden and unwanted popularity as the Boy Who Lived and the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain, and his normal coursework.

Strangely enough, it was Neville who acted as Hermione sounding board for her own bad behavior. Having spent the summer relatively alone, Hermione had not really been prepared for the camaraderie and cheerfulness of Gryffindor House, even in the increasingly dark times. Watching the little firsties jump and skip about without a care in the world had quickly found her last nerve. But the soft spoken young man that was Neville Longbottom had thrown hard looks in her direction whenever her words got too cutting. And he was able to magically curb her anger with a touch or a smile, and often without inducing a flinch from the now touch-shy witch. The same was true of Luna, even if the Ravenclaw witch did not have the same number of opportunities to practice this rather strange skill. Both Houses were quite thankful for them, and were quite happy to leave both Hufflepuff and Slytherin at the mercy of Hermione's ice cold rages.

Hermione's birthday was marked by only a few. She received a watch from Professor McGonagall. She knew it was a tradition for a new adult in the wizarding world to receive this, usually from their parents. The fact that the strict Tranfiguration teacher had thought of it for her spoke volumes. She'd been given books or vouchers for Flourish & Blotts by almost everyone else. One major surprise came in the form of an unknown owl bearing a small package with the emblem of Gringotts. Within the package, she found a signet ring along with a supply of silver magical wax. Nagnok's short missive confirmed that she was now the official Head of House Granger, and both official and personal correspondence could now be sealed with her ring. The design, the goblin continued, had been approved by a certain Gaian spirit. Hermione studied the symbol of the one-winged lioness holding a katana as if ready to do battle, and she agreed it would suit a House of sword and magic perfectly well.

But the greatest surprise of all came exactly a week after Hermione's outburst at Ron. Pansy Parkinson approached her just as the sorceress was crossing the Entrance Hall, ready to go train outside. The Slytherin witch proceeded to politely request a minute of Hermione's time for a quick word. Hermione followed Pansy to one side, away from both the Slytherin and Gryffindor crowds.

"Have you finished the essay for Professor Snape?"

Hermione blinked once as she watched the Slytherin witch in front of her.

"I have. Why?"

"Would you be able to help me out with the practical portion of the work?"

"Err… Okay. When do you want to do that?"

"I was hoping right now. I still have to work on Professor McGonagall's essay."

Hermione shrugged and she looked around.

"I'd rather find one of the teachers and tell them we'll be practicing. No need taking the risk of losing Houses points."

Parkinson nodded and the two of them turned to hunt down a professor. They managed to find Professor Flitwick and requested his permission to use an empty classroom. If the half goblin was surprised at seeing a Slytherin and a Gryffindor working together, he chose not to comment. Instead he wrote them a permission slip, led them to a specific classroom, and warded said room so he would know who came in and out of the room and if anyone got hurt.

"Now girls, I'm trusting not to cast any spell that is too dangerous."

"Yes, Professor," the two witches chorused.

Flitwick left them to it and Hermione went through a few quick stretches while Parkinson took off her outer robes. The witch-sorceress found herself watched by Parkinson's hazel gaze.

"Are you ever wearing anything other than this these days?"

Hermione glanced down at her Second Class SOLDIER outfit then shrugged.

"It's my uniform." At Parkinson's rather confused gaze, Hermione explained. "I'm a member of an organization called SOLDIER. We're divided into three groups. Once recruited and trained, you become a Third Class member and wear the same outfit as this, but in dark blue. The Second Class members, like me, wear dark red, and the First Class wear black. Although technically, you can wear whatever you want once you reach that level."

"So you're a Second Class?"

"Yep. That's me. Hermione, SOLDIER, Second Class. At your service."

Hermione playfully bowed at Parkinson who strangely enough answered with a slight curtsy.

 **It** **'** **s a reflex. Pureblood manners.**

 _And how on earth would you know this?_

 **Lifestream knowledge. Concentrate. Here is your chance to determine whether or not she has the potential of being an ally.**

 _She_ _'_ _s a pureblood from a dark family. She won't ever ally with Harry. She won't be allowed to._

 **I am not talking about her family or Harry. I** **'** **m talking about her and you. If it comes down to a fight, would she maybe choose to step out of your way, given the right circumstances, rather than engage you?**

Sephiroth's consciousness faded once more into the background and Hermione blinked a few times as her focus switched back to Parkinson, who was still studying her SOLDIER uniform. The Gryffindor witch purposefully stretched her legs some more.

"It's more comfortable to train in than my Hogwarts uniform. Actually, it's simply more comfortable all around."

"Is this why you started wearing trousers with your Hogwarts uniform too?"

"Sort of. I must say that yes, I got used to trousers over the summer. There's also the fact that SOLDIERs believe in being ready at a moment's notice, every hour of the day. Given how physical the life of a SOLDIER can be, trousers are the default for everyone in the unit. I think the only exception would be if there was a ball or something."

The witch blinked once, but asked no more question. Hermione rolled her shoulders a few times then drew her wand from its sheath at her back.

"So… What do you want to work on?"

"Silent casting."

Hermione nodded and looked around the room.

"You want to aim at me? Or how do you want to go about it?"

Parkinson grimaced.

"I would prefer if you could stand with me and tell me where I'm going wrong."

Hermione nodded and turned, transfiguring a desk into a large round target. She then went to take her place, one step behind and to the right of the Slytherin.

"All right. Let's see you cast a basic _stupefy_ at that thing."

Parkinson glanced at her sideways, but cast the spell with a mutter. The jet of red light hit the target dead center and Hermione nodded.

"Well, at least we don't need to work on your aim. Now can you explain what you did to cast? And before you say anything, I know the part about speaking and the flicking of the wand. What I mean is, can you decompose what happened during that split second between you deciding to cast and starting to speak the spell?"

Parkinson, who had made to speak, now stopped. She blinked and closed her mouth, thinking.

"I don't think I can."

"Well, I'll tell you how it feels to me."

Hermione walked off to the side and hopped onto a desk there, her feet dangling beneath her. She sat for a few seconds in silence then breathed in deep once.

"When deciding to use magic," Hermione started, "there's a moment I spend remembering the incantation and the wand movement needed. And in that same moment is when my intent crystalizes within my mind. Whatever I have chosen to do, it comes to the fore, taking over all other thoughts for that moment. Then and only then will my magic spark."

The Gryffindor witch closed her eyes as a half-smile played on her lips.

"It starts with a strange feeling," she continued. "It's a… a ball of steel popping into existence in my chest, dropping into my stomach. It contracts and it grows warm. And soon the warmth spreads across the rest of my body. It travels up then down into my casting arm and becomes more and more concentrated as it goes. And then, it's funneled into my wand and ready to use. And that's when I know I can speak the spell and move my wand as required to ease the passage of magic from within my body and mind, and into existence and reality."

Hermione breathed deeply then opened her eyes to see Parkinson just standing there, watching her. The Gryffindor's peaceful feeling of remembered communion with her magic was somewhat reflected on the Slytherin's awed face. Hermione shook off the feeling and pulled her feet onto the desk so she was sitting crossed-legged onto the wooden working top.

"Now, there are several things that you need to understand before you really are able to cast silent magic. Or even wandless magic. One, we don't need a wand to start with. All of us are powerful enough to use magic without a wand. After all, that's how our parents realized we were witches. Two, we have been conditioned to use both wands and rituals to access our magic. To be fair, our ancestors knew what they were doing when they developed both wands, to make it easier to access magic, and rituals made up of words of power and wand movements to better increase and focus our intents. But as I said, we don't actually need a wand or even the rituals. It's just easier to use magic this way. And three, it's my understanding that everyone experiences their magic differently. But once you know how your magic sparks within you, you will be able to get it to do so even when you don't have a wand in your hand."

Parkinson blinked a few times as she fingered her wand. Hermione just sat in silence, letting her classmate work through her thoughts.

"How did you find out? I mean, about how your magic works for you?"

"Meditation. It was part of my SOLDIER training."

 **Not really,** Sephiroth interjected.

But Hermione ignored the angel in her head and uncrossed her legs before jumping off the desk.

"I think this is probably the best way for you to get it as well."

Hermione talked Parkinson through finding a comfortable position, the relaxing and slow breathing, letting her voice guide the other witch into the trance-like state before she left her to it. Parkinson chose to close her eyes through it and Hermione watched over the Slytherin for the duration. Once she was ready, Parkinson opened her eyes once more, took a deep breath then stood and stretched.

"How do you feel?" Hermione asked in a soft voice.

Parkinson blinked twice.

"Calm," came the murmured reply.

Hermione let a half-smile play on her lips for a moment.

"If you practice meditating every night, until it becomes really easy to get into this meditating state and stay in it, you can start to cast a spell when this calm. Something that's really simple for you, that requires no real thinking. Then you can try to retrace your magic — and the feelings it evokes — back to its source within you."

"And then I can cast silently?"

"You'd be a step closer, anyway. If you want to, we can meet again next week. Same time, same place. We'll work through any problems you might have encountered and see if you can get to casting silently as least."

Parkinson blinked again, the peace leaving her eyes even as she realized that they now needed to leave the classroom. A glance at the window showed the Scottish skies had already started to darken.

"What time is it?"

"Just an hour away from dinner, actually," Hermione said after a quick glance at her watch. "I'm impressed. First time I got into a trance, I barely lasted thirty minutes. You were under for close to two hours."

"Yeah," Parkinson winced as she shook her arms and legs, "I can feel it now."

"My fault," Hermione said as she grabbed her wand and with a wave she cast her combined-magic, cold compress charm onto her fellow student. Parkinson shivered as the cold worked through her body and soothed the pins and needles in her limbs. "I should have gotten you to move about a bit."

"Is it always going to be like this?"

"Without some physical training, it might be a while but your body will get used to it."

"Physical training?" Pansy repeated.

"Yeah. I'm working out every day, although it's more to keep up with my SOLDIER training than anything else. But I suppose I could teach you some simple exercises you can do indoors. Like stretches."

Pansy nodded slowly and Hermione pasted a bright smile on her face. As the two witches prepared to leave the room, returning the target to its original state as a desk, Parkinson looked sideways at Hermione.

"So if I meditate, I'll see how my magic works. And then I'll be able to cast silently, and maybe even wandless."

"That's the theory. Like I said, you're welcome to come back here next week. I'll clear it with Professor Flitwick. We can see what you've managed and maybe I'll be able to give you a few more pointers."

Parkinson nodded and left. Hermione watched her go for a moment, wondering just what she had started with this association.

#

As September bled into October, Hermione continued on her path to learning everything she could about sorcery. She worked with Parkinson once or twice a week, and where the rest of their year group was still struggling to cast even the most basics of spells silently, the Slytherin girl was well on her way to becoming proficient with casting most silent charms although curses and hexes — which required a greater focus — were still a bit tricky for her. Ron was still being a prat at times. He kept pushing, trying to get Hermione to do his homework as she had once upon a time. Her continued refusal had led to more comments about her appearance, her scar and hair often making it into the conversation along with comments about her study habits and how no bloke would want her if she didn't learn to hide those flaws. Hermione had had to stop a vengeful Sephiroth from stepping in more than a few times. Lavender Brown had taken to follow Ron around like a lost puppy, and the Gryffindor boy seemed to relish in the attention. He could often be seen strutting around the castle with the girl on his arm. Hermione had confessed to Harry and Neville that she was glad not to be a prefect anymore. This way, she ran no risk of running into them snogging in a corridor during patrols.

The two Gryffindor young men had started to study with her more. Although their schedules did not quite match — since the boys were studying Herbology for their Auror training while she had chosen to study Care of Magical Creatures in a bid to connect with Terran summons more easily — they managed to study in the Library on Thursday mornings and in the common room most evenings. Both were quiet and willing to do their own work, and Hermione did not mind throwing them a few pointers now and then. But she stuck to her guns and didn't let them copy off her finished essays, though she shared her research notes. The two never once asked though. Harry was doing better than ever in Potions since he had found the Half-Blood Prince's old potion book. Hermione had cautioned her friend against relying on said book too much, by pointing out that an Auror simply needed to know his stuff or he'd risk his life along with those of others. Harry had agreed but still used the book. At least, he was now trying to understand the meaning behind the corrections. If Harry and Neville knew about Hermione's meetings with Pansy Parkinson, they had yet to say anything about it, although Neville had mentioned how much quicker the Slytherin witch was advancing in Defense compared to most.

With the first trip to Hogsmeade fast approaching, the upper years had started making preparations for their time out of school the week before. Although Hermione had planned to just stay behind and train some more, her plans had been shelved when both Neville and Harry had made it perfectly clear that they would not let her ward herself in the common room. The two young men had dragged her all the way to the Entrance Hall. Hermione had frozen for a moment then struggled not to flinch away from her friends as they'd placed their hands on her mouth to stop her from protesting. They'd then added her name to Professor McGonagall's list. The older witch had smirked at her Gryffindors' antics, but still had written Hermione's name to the list of students who would be going out.

When that eagerly awaited Saturday came, the Hogwarts crowd went to breakfast then prepared to leave. Harry and Neville flanked Hermione past Filch, all the while keeping an arm behind her to stop her from bolting backward. Hermione knew she could have broken away from their harmless attentions at any time with a few well-placed elbows and knees, if she'd truly wanted. And she also knew they would have let her stay behind if she'd explained that she wasn't up to it for whatever reason. But for the first time in a long while, Hermione felt like she was happy. Harry and Neville's touches were gentle and light, and she welcomed them as she had not welcomed a touch since… what felt like forever.

The boys dragged her into Scrivenshaft's and the local branch of Flourish & Blotts, and she then followed them into Honeydukes so they could stock up on their favorite sweets and chocolate. They met with Luna and Ginny in The Three Broomsticks, where Hermione treated everyone to a couple of butterbeers. Ron and Lavender joined them a little later and Hermione signaled Madam Rosmerta for another round before the two were even settled. The atmosphere remained friendly and Hermione settled the bill before anyone could argue — as she knew Harry and Neville would have. The group finally started on their way back to Hogwarts, the girls laden with brightly-wrapped packages. As their little group made it to the Great Hall, Ron launched his arms around both Lavender and Hermione's shoulders. He brought both witches against him, one on either sides.

"All we need now is one of Hogwarts' finest meals!" Ron exclaimed.

But Hermione tensed and shook his arm off her shoulder with gritted teeth. Ron frowned at her.

"What the matter with you now?"

"Nothing. I just remembered that I forgot to send a letter to my account manager at Gringotts. I need to do it now, before I run into troubles with him."

Hermione waved on the others, but she noted that neither Harry nor Neville seemed to have bought her explanation. She chose not to turn back as she walked away, rather certain that both young men were watching her leave.

The following Monday saw Harry going off for his second session with Dumbledore. Ron, Neville and Hermione stayed up to wait for their friend's return. But Harry was frustrated when he finally made it back to Gryffindor Tower.

"What is the use of learning that Riddle was an orphan with a nasty streak a mile wide. That's not going to help me find a way to defeat him, is it?"

"Maybe the Headmaster wants you to learn more about him so you can try and guess what he might do next?" Neville suggested.

"But that's crazy," Ron said. "We already have Dumbledore for that. If anyone knows how You-Know-Who's mind works, that's the Headmaster."

"It's never good to keep that kind of knowledge in one place or with just one person," Hermione said as she sat on the floor and opposite the other three. "If something happens to Professor Dumbledore, we'd be without that knowledge altogether. And we've all seen the Headmaster's hand. He's obviously been cursed, and badly so or Madam Pomfrey would have sorted that out by now."

The boys fell silent as they mulled over the implications. For her part, Hermione turned her mind inward. But Sephiroth had nothing more to add. The four Gryffindors finally retired to their beds. Hermione took the opportunity to reach for the spirit living inside her head.

 _You_ _'_ _ve been awfully quiet, Sephiroth. No Gaian pearl of wisdom to impart?_

 **Just once again wondering why a group of teenagers is being asked to fight a rebel movement on their own.**

 _Correct me if I_ _'_ _m wrong, but weren't SOLDIER members picked out and trained from the age of sixteen?_

 **Yes. But we all** ** _chose_** **to become part of Shinra** **'** **s army. For better or worse, we signed up.**

 _You didn_ _'_ _t. Neither did Angeal and Genesis from what I've seen of your memories._

 **True. But we were bred for war. We never had — nor did we want, at the time — another option.**

 _So how is my situation different from yours?_

The spirit said nothing more and Hermione counted it as a small victory, never mind that it was kind of a bitter one. The morning passed without much of anything happening. But as she finished her meal, she was joined by Neville. The Gryffindor wizard said nothing but once Hermione had finished her food, he took her hand and led her to the unused classroom that she had recently been using with Pansy for their training time together.

"I need to ask you something," Neville started. "And I know it's not really any of my business. But I feel like I need to say it. And I just hope you will hold off before you blast me to smithereens."

Neville said those last few words with a self-deprecating smile, and Hermione couldn't help but give him a tentative smile back.

 **That sounds kind of ominous.**

 _Stay out of this, Sephiroth. You are not the little voice of conscience in my head._

 **No. Just the little voice of sorcery.**

Hermione huffed quietly then returned her full attention on her friend. Neville stood opposite her, his hands running through his hair and his right foot scuffing along the stone floor.

"Well," the Gryffindor witch chuckled, "I've never bitten someone's head off just because they'd asked me a question."

"Yeah," Neville huffed a laugh too. "If you can put up with Parkinson, I guess you can deal with pretty much anyone and anything."

"You know about that?"

There Neville reverted to his nervous self.

"I.. Err. Imayhavefollowedyouafewtimeswhenyouwenttotrainwithher…"

Hermione blinked twice.

"Say what?"

 **I think he said he followed you,** Sephiroth laughed.

"I said," Neville sighed, "that I may have followed you a few times when you went to train with her."

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, that's what I thought you said.

The Gryffindor wizard grumbled but Hermione just smiled at him some more.

"I was worried," Neville grumped. "Plus, I was wondering why you were training her but not helping the others with their homework."

"And your conclusions, oh grand master of psychology?"

Neville frowned but obviously opted to ignore both the sarcasm and the unknown Muggle term.

"She did the work. She was willing to put in the additional hours to get better at Defense."

Hermione sighed. She knew Neville was only trying to help. She just wasn't too keen on where this was going. The Gryffindor wizard ran a hand through his hair.

"Look. I know something happened back during the Easter hols."

Hermione jerked back but Neville reached for her hand.

"Hermione. Like I said, it's none of my business really. And I'm not asking you to share."

The young witch fought for control, to not flinch at her friend's touch, to not shake his hand off of her, to not strike out at him in anger and fear. Neville seemed to sense that. He let go of her hand and gave her a sheepish smile.

"I… err… I just wanted to make sure you'll be all right over half-term. I mean, I guess you'll be staying here but… Well, I wanted you to know that you're welcome at mine. I mean, if you want of course. I can just owl grandma and tell her I'm bringing you along."

Hermione blinked at Neville's nervous rambling.

 **He cares. He** **'** **s not the only one. Even the Weasley boy, in his own oafish ways, cares for you.**

 _I know,_ Hermione sighed in her mind. _It_ _'_ _s just hard, seeing them just as they've always been and knowing how much things have changed for me._

 **That** **'** **s a lie, Hermione. Never, ever lie to yourself. Never did me any good. Rather, consider how things have changed for them too. After all, Neville might have been ready to stand up to you even as back as first year. But never would he have tackled you about your feelings on his own before. He would have told Harry and Ron, and let them try to deal with you. Ron would have done a lot more than just make comments about your appearance, once upon a time. And Harry might have been here to temperate Ron's words, but he would have sided firmly with him in trying to find out exactly what happened.**

Hermione blinked again. She then turned to Neville.

"It's fine, Neville. I do have somewhere to be for the holidays. I'll be on the train back, same as usual."

"But… Where will you stay?"

"Don't worry. It's all sorted already."

 **Is it?**

 _Well, not yet. But I_ _'_ _m sure Nagnok will be happy to find us a little pad somewhere in Chingford._

"Are you sure, Hermione?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Neville."

After this conversation, Hermione wasn't too surprised when, a few days later, Ginny came to offer her a place at the Burrow over the holidays. This time, the sorceress was able to cheerfully refuse. She had owled Nagnok, who in turn had promptly bought a small studio flat right by the park Hermione had spent most of her summer at. When her Head of House had come calling, Hermione had shown her the deeds of the flat and the older witch had been more or less satisfied. Hermione suspected that McGonagall would have preferred it if her favorite cub had not been alone. But Hermione wasn't really alone, although she didn't say anything to the older witch. And so, the Gryffindor sorceress made it on board the train and back to London for the half-term.

#

Hermione was quite surprised to see a large group made up of youngsters from the karate club and their parents waiting for her on the Muggle side of King's Cross station. After all the obligatory hugs, that never bothered Hermione for some reason, the group moved off dragging the witch-sorceress along. The convoy of five cars — to Hermione's quiet amazement — made its way back to Chingford and the leisure center, where Hermione was welcomed with a little party. The kids were continuously asking about how her studies were going, and the young witch skilfully skirted the truth by saying everything was fine and she was keeping up her grades. She learned that a certain Mr Nagnok had contacted the Chingford Karate Club to let them know when and where Hermione would be coming back.

The weekend saw Hermione settle in her studio flat. Nagnok had anticipated all her basic needs, along with some not so basic ones. He had smoothed everything over with the Muggle authorities. While she was already considered an adult by the Ministry for Magic, it was not so with Her Majesty's government. But Nagnok had apparently pulled a few strings, filled all the relevant forms, and Hermione had been recognized as a seventeen year old living on her own. Hermione had also been both surprised and delighted at the large space occupied by bookshelves in her little flat. Included were a small selection of books about sorcery written from the point of view of witches and wizards. Where Hermione had looked for the rare and unusual journals of sorcery masters over the summer, Nagnok had given her books designed to teach the very basics to mainstream witches and wizards.

 **Good. Now we can learn more about how the basic skills are learned on Earth. From there, we can extrapolate to what you will achieve given our connection.**

Hermione thought Sephiroth sounded rather certain of their combined strengths, although she kept the thought very private. The young witch took some time to finish furnishing the flat, buying a small television set and a cabinet to set it on. She then visited with the people she had gotten to know over the summer holidays. The kids from the karate club were delighted to see her, and Hermione was set upon to demonstrate her skills with the sword along with her own brand of mixed martial arts. It was no great chore for the young witch. She spent a few hours both on Saturday and Sunday doing just that in the nearby park.

However Hermione was shocked when, on Monday evening, she watched the evening news and saw headlines of random attacks by a supposedly new terrorist group — who never bothered to claim their victims, but always used the same tactics: using freak weather patterns to cloak their advance and generally burning everything to the ground after they were done. The following morning, the young witch went looking through the recent archives at her local library. She came back home with a folder full of clippings to study and she soon realized that her first impressions were right: the Death Eaters were having fun attacking Muggles. Nothing had made it into the papers back in the Wizarding world. But then again, it wasn't that surprising given that most witches and wizards were content to pretend the non-magical world didn't exist. What was more worrying was the fact that Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix didn't seem to do anything about it either. Instead, the Headmaster was teaching Harry about what Riddle had been like as a child.

 **Something** **'** **s not right. We're missing information. Something vital.**

 _Damn Dumbledore! He_ _'_ _s doing it again!_

 **Again?**

Hermione was on her feet and pacing now.

"He's telling Harry not even half of the things he needs to know and letting him go off half cocked."

 **You do remember that I can hear your thoughts,** Sephiroth snarked.

"Voldemort knows about the prophecy. But we don't. And there's something in it that has made him change his plans."

 **How do you mean?**

"He's always been focused on Harry. He wanted him dead. He would have tried something against him by now."

 **But Harry is at Hogwarts.**

"It's never stopped Voldemort before."

Hermione stopped as she stood facing her bookshelves. Her school books were there, along with the sorcery tomes. Hermione's gaze was fixed on these last.

"I need an edge. A bigger one."

 **Then we will step up your Mako training. Between my knowledge of what was possible and the knowledge of within these books of what is possible here and now, we should be able to work out a way to accelerate your training.**

Hermione nodded and reached for the first book. The rest of her holiday was split between running the advanced taolu she needed to perform for Lin to secure her black sash, and studying sorcery from a witch's point of view rather than from Sephiroth's past experiences as a SOLDIER. Hermione and Sephiroth soon had a better handle on what they would be able to do, as well as how they had managed to get this far. Unlike on Gaia, where users would usually slot their chosen materia within weapons and equipments, Terran materia had to be carried within a person's body in order to be used. The only exception were crystal wands that a witch or a wizard could use to cast wizardry and sorcery-based spells alike. No more than five materia could be carried safely within a body as the increased power was too much to bear otherwise. Power crystals were different. They simply needed to be around in order for their stored power to be accessed. This was why most sorcerers chose to either disguise them as pieces of jewelry and/or protect them with wards meant to prevent anyone from tapping into their powers.

Hermione also learned the basics behind creating both power crystals and materia. The synthetic process Sephiroth had known could obviously not be reproduced on Earth. But both the dark angel and the witch had been surprised to learn that any natural crystal could be used to store energy, although only flawless natural specimen could be changed into materia. Actual Mako crystals were rare, and the only one who referenced their creation was Morgana herself. The sorceress had created a few for her personal use, and had chosen to write down the process on her journals in a roundabout way. But she had never taught the technique to anyone. Only Hermione and Sephiroth's combined knowledge showed them what it was the well-known sorceress had hidden away within the yellowing pages of her journal. And the two of them were lucky enough to know just where they could find a Mako spring.

On Wednesday, during the club's normal lessons, Lin tested Hermione. He finally agreed she had learned what she needed and practiced long enough through all her taolu to deserve her black sash. And Sephiroth agreed that, between her developing sorceress powers, the skills she had developed at swordplay by studying his past fights and developing her own moves, and her knowledge of hand-to-hand combat — something that most of the original members had not known half as well as the Gryffindor witch — Hermione now was a fully fledged, First Class SOLDIER. Once back in their flat, he transformed her red Second Class uniform into a matching black one. The witch went out the following morning, looking all over London for a leather coat to finish off her SOLDIER look. She finally managed to find one that matched her wants: black, falling to her knees, with a high collar, and closing with a few snap-buckles at waist and hips levels. She bought it without hesitation. She spent her lunchtime sketching out the modifications she wanted to make to the coat, though she had no idea how she would go about making her vision a reality. Transfiguration was out, in her mind. She wanted something permanent.

 **What about your weapon?**

Hermione frowned and she felt Sephiroth pulled her into the Lifestream.

"You need a weapon. First Class SOLDIERs do not use the same swords as the lower classes."

"You did give me Masamune."

The silver-haired SOLDIER threw his protege a nasty look, and Hermione smiled sweetly at him. The Lifestream gathered in his hand and Masamune shimmered into being in its master's hand. Hermione extended her right hand forward and felt her wand respond, the length of silk-wrapped, African blackwood pulsing gently along with her heartbeat.

"A blade to be wielded only by those deemed worthy enough _…_ Isn't that what you said about my wand, Sephiroth?"

"I did."

Hermione studied the wand of silk, wood, and platinum. She closed her eyes, remembering the feel of Masamune in her hand, the few times she had used it for training. The nodachi was obviously far too long for her; she was neither as strong, nor as tall as the one-winged angel. The SOLDIER broadsword she'd mainly been using was also slightly too heavy. Hermione's style focused on magic and speed. She could hit hard if needed, but not only if she backed-up her strike with magic. What she needed was a katana.

No sooner had she thought the words that she felt magic gather in her wand. She watched as the life force of the Planet gathered around her weapon and a length of steel shimmered into being, even as the young sorceress was sent back to the solitude of her flat. Hermione blinked, the semi-darkness of her apartment quite the contrast to the swirling green lights of the Lifestream. She then turned her blade from side to side, admiring the temper line along the edge.

"You are Genesis."

The blade shone bright with Mako power for an instant before it disappeared, returning to its first appearance as a wand. But Hermione could still feel the power she had awoken, pulsing against her fingers. Now she just needed to get the rest of her SOLDIER outfit sorted.

On Thursday afternoon, Hermione and Sephiroth felt as ready as they thought they would get, given the time they had. They contacted Nagnok to request access to the natural spring beneath Gringotts. Hermione also asked about finding someone in the wizarding world who would be able to craft several sets of pauldrons without asking too many questions. Surprisingly, at least to Hermione, she received a message asking her to present herself to Gringotts the following morning. And so, Hermione stepped into Gringotts first thing on Friday morning. Nagnok was in the entrance hall, waiting for her. He led her back to his office.

"I have spoken with the elders and explained the situation. The Goblin nation wishes to supply your pauldrons in exchange for three sorcerer crystals."

Hermione blinked.

"Do you mean the crystals that store energy?"

But Nagnok smiled in the terrifying goblin fashion and shook his head.

"The other ones, if at all possible."

Hermione couldn't help her little answering smirk.

 **What** **'** **s happening here?** Sephiroth wondered.

 _The goblins have been oppressed by human for a long time now. Although magical creatures, they are not allowed to own a wand. For that matter, no one but humans are allowed. I guess it rankles._

 **And materia are not covered?**

 _I assume not,_ Hermione replied.

She looked carefully at Nagnok. Hermione was not as naive as she once was. After the debacle with the house elves, Hermione had taken the time to learn a bit more about the different cultures of the wizarding world. And so, she knew that goblins were all about wealth and trading. It was in their very nature to barter for goods and services.

 _You think you can guide me into creating decent materia, despite the differences?_ Hermione asked of the angel within her mind.

 **Yes, but the results might not be as good as they hope.**

Hermione nodded and looked back at Nagnok.

"This is what I ultimately want," the sorceress said as she took the sheet of paper bearing her sketched modifications and her shrunken coat from her pocket.

A wave from her wand returned the leather duster to its normal size. She passed the two items to Nagnok and the goblin studied them in silence for a few moments. The sketch was as accurate a picture of the finished product as she could draw. She had stolen the pauldron's design from Sephiroth's memories of Genesis, but kept the black leather coat her personal angel had favored in his time, only short enough that it would hang around her knees.

"As you can see, I have the coat. I just need the armor to be attached to it."

Nagnok studied the coat and the drawing in turn, mumbling to himself in Gobbledygook.

"I think I can manage to find something for you," the goblin finally said.

"Excellent. If you find someone to make and fix the shoulder guards on my coat then I will deliver five materia - five spell-quality crystals - to you. Three as payment for the pauldrons. One as a gift to the Goblin nation. And one as a personal gift to you for helping me. I cannot guarantee the quality of these crystals, as they will be my first attempts."

Nagnok nodded. "A fair trade. And a thoughtful gift."

The goblin smiled again and gestured for Hermione to follow him. And so, the young sorceress spent the next day and a half perfecting her materia crafting skills. By the Mako spring where she had been reborn, Hermione fashioned a grand total of eight materia, along with half a dozen crystals. The crystals were nothing more than basic quartz crystals, that could double up as power crystals but were not worth much else. The materia were fully-functioning, if of varying quality.

By the time she went back home, Hermione was dead on her feet. But she was also the owner of a set of five of her very own SOLDIER coats. Nagnok had gone through the trouble of sourcing a tailor as well as a smith. Between the both of them, the artisans had crafted black dragon leather and mythril-steel into five armored coats. They were lightweight, flexible, and completely impervious to fire. As a thank you, Hermione gave Nagnok two pieces of quartz that were her failed attempts at materia and asked if he would pass them along to the artisans. The goblin confirmed he would. And so, the goblins got their five materia along with two good-sized chunk of quartz. And Hermione ended with three materia for her own use.

Once it was time to get back to Hogwarts, Hermione once more decided to travel by riding on the roof of the first carriage. Hermione spent the ride sitting and watching the countryside flying on either side of her, her black leather coat flapping in the wind behind her.

#

A N: I have very slowly made my way through editing this chapter… using the puny, not-even-5-inch screen of my smartphone. I wanted to make sure you guys knew I was still writing, though it's taking a long time. Even longer now that my children have re-started school and they need help with their homework…

I am amazed that even after near enough two months since the last update, new favorites and follows are trickling into my mailbox. Just for this, I've updated One Winged Witch again instead of Path of Power.

You guys are awesome!


	9. Manipulators At Work

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER NINE

Manipulators at Work

Hermione chose to skip the first meal back at Hogwarts. She caught her friends in the Entrance Hall, giving them all a big smile before telling them she would stay in her room until the morning. Neville shot her a look but said nothing, while Ron and Harry waved and left talking about Quidditch, training schedules and the upcoming match. Once she was certain the Tower would be deserted, Hermione went up to her dormitory.

She wasn't surprised to see that her trunk had already made it up to Gryffindor Tower, sitting by the foot of her bed. Her clothes had been put away. But her books had not been touched. If the elves had learned two things about Hermione it was that one, she was stubborn enough to fight against an entire species' expectations; and two, she hated it when anyone handled her books without her permission. She was grateful of their compulsive need to please this time, as among her school books were several of the texts on sorcery Nagnok had found for her. She had left the rarer tomes back home.

She gathered all her books and considered the room around her. Each of the five Sixth Year Gryffindor Girl had their own chest of drawers and a small hanging space by their bed. Luckily for Hermione, she had few changes of clothes this year. She rearranged her drawers dumping the few t-shirts and vests she'd brought together with her underwear and socks. Her SOLDIER uniforms and leather coat ended up hanging alongside her school uniforms. That left her with two drawers to use for her books. A few undetectable extension and notice-me-not charms later, and Hermione happily arranged all her precious books in there. She then warded the drawers shut, adding her magical signature and Sephiroth's to the lock. Brown and Patil were too nosy to be trusted anyway. She was asleep by the time the other four Gryffindor girls came back.

As had become routine, Hermione was up at the crack of dawn. She went through her morning training, took a quick shower, and got ready for breakfast. The rest of the morning passed just as normally. She went to class, showed up the Death Eaters' children in Defense — with the exception of Pansy, who had obviously been training over the holiday — and brewed a decent potion for Slughorn without the benefit of a cheat aid like Harry. But everything changed when the Headmaster approached her right after lunch.

"Ah, Miss Granger. I was wondering if I could have a word with you."

 _Crap._

 **Indeed.**

Hermione nodded warily and followed the Headmaster all the way back to his office. The old man smiled and offered her a lemon drop, which the witch declined. She did take the seat he offered her, leaning back into the backrest.

"I have been worried, my dear."

 _Here it comes,_ Hermione scowled inwardly.

 **Roll with it. We need an idea of what he knows, what he wants…**

 _Sephiroth! I'm no spy._

 **Maybe but I was a general, once upon a time. Speak the truth or don't answer at all. As bluntly as possible.**

 _Why?_

 **Because you want that knowledge to deal with your other two professors. And because we want him to know you are now a player in this game. Whether or not he believes you important is irrelevant.**

"You went away for half-term," Dumbledore continued, in his grandfatherly tone of voice. "But I'm wondering where you stayed."

"My flat. Nagnok secured it for me in anticipation of my need."

"Miss Granger, it is very dangerous for you to be out there on your own. The Death Eaters might still be looking for you."

"My flat is protected by goblin magic. At this moment in time, it would be very difficult for the Death Eaters to get in. However, I want them to try and take me on. I have a few scores to settle."

The Headmaster blinked. "This is no game, Miss Granger."

"Really? Then answer me this, Headmaster." Hermione leaned forward, her forearms coming to rest on the man's desk. "Why is it you have told Harry you would help him, but have only made enough time to see him twice in two months?"

The old wizard straightened in his seat.

"I am a busy man, Miss Granger."

"Actually," Hermione interrupted, "I believe that. You have a school to run and you're heading up the fight against Voldemort from behind the scenes. Then let me ask you this instead. Why is it, since you're so busy, that you have only imparted only one piece of useful information to Harry, and in a fashion so convoluted that he doesn't even realize you have?"

Silence reigned in the office for a few moments, neither the wizard, the witch, nor the spirit living in her head willing to say more or make a move too sudden. Impetuous youthfulness was the first to break in the face of shrewed experience and Hermione stood.

"It could have taken one meeting to get through it all. Harry didn't need to see any memories of the Gaunt family. Just telling him who they were and what happened to make Voldemort an orphan would have been enough. The memory of the orphanage was good, but not essential either. More important would have been telling Harry — with clear, concise wording — that Voldemort is nothing more than a sociopath with psychopathic tendencies. And that Harry, despite a somewhat similar background story, is absolutely nothing like that so-called Dark Lord."

"Miss Granger!"

"No! You will tell me why you're stalling him. Why is it you're trying to keep Harry sweet right now?"

 **Hermione. This is not the way.**

 _Shut it, Sephiroth._

"Miss Granger. I will ignore your words since you are attempting to protect Mister Potter, however misguidedly, but…"

The rest of the Headmaster's words faded into white noise, as Hermione gritted her teeth at the rush of Mako power within her. The green light of the Lifestream swirled into existence for her eyes only. The young girl wanted to gasp, to close her eyes, or maybe shout at Sephiroth. But she was duly shunted out of her body by the general.

 _What are you doing?!_

Sephiroth didn't answer. But Hermione's body stopped pacing, standing in front of the window in the office and watching the morning skies behind the glass pane.

"…you should remember that you are a student here, Miss Granger. As such, you are my responsibility."

"Not during the holidays… sir."

Hermione watched her eyes' reflections in the window. They glowed with Mako power, one green, one gold. And her pupils had contracted into slits, the same way Sephiroth's looked. The glow faded after a moment, but the slits remained.

"I am a witch of sound mind and body, and of age in the wizarding world. I have been recognized by the Muggle government as a seventeen year old, in full-time education, owning a suitable place to live in and with enough money to meet her needs. As such, I am independent though subject to regular checks from the authorities for the next nine months or so. The only person responsible for me… is me."

 _Sephiroth!_

 **You cannot go head to head with that wizard, Hermione. Not yet.**

 _Harry needs my help._

 **Harry needs you alive. Think, girl. That man has been orchestrating the fight for years. He must have known the risks you were under. Whether or not your Professor Snape knew of a direct threat against you and your family, they must have discussed the possibility at one point.**

Hermione's efforts to free herself from Sephiroth's control quietened.

 _No…_

 **He must have known,** Sephiroth continued ruthlessly. **And he considered you expendable. This view has probably not changed.**

 _No!_

 **He left you to die. He forbid his agents to go looking for you. The fact that they did anyway is to their honor. Not his.**

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione and Sephiroth both looked to the Headmaster, who was now standing behind his desk and frowning darkly at them. He saw nothing but a young witch, probably. But it was two SOLDIERs, united in purpose, who glared at him and turned before leaving his office.

#

The following few days saw the school in the tight hold of Quidditch fever. It was all the talk of the school. Having never understood the interest, Hermione kept to herself. She also tried to ignored Sephiroth as much as she could, still annoyed with the other SOLDIER for interfering during her talk with Dumbledore. She understood why he did, to a point. But there was no doubt in her mind that had Sephiroth been born on Earth and a British wizard, he would have been sorted in Slytherin. Games of cloaks and daggers were their forte. Like most Gryffindors, with the notable exception of Dumbledore, Hermione tended to prefer the direct approach. Although she had her sneaky moments too — same as anyone.

Harry had been made captain of the team and had managed to replace every members who had left. But from what Hermione understood, the team was not functioning too well under the pressure of the coming match.

"It's like all of them have forgotten everything they know about flying a broom," Harry moaned a couple of days before the match.

"You're complaining to the wrong person," Hermione replied with a half-smile. "Or have you forgotten just how much I enjoy flying?"

Hermione's sarcastic tone was not lost on her friend. The both of them were in the Library, as was their routine on Thursday mornings. Neville had not joined them because he had a long list of questions for Professor Sprout and Ron was grumpy because of the poor training session two days before. It certainly didn't help that the Slytherins had revived a certain match chant for the upcoming occasion. Echoes of the original version of 'Weasley Is Our King' could be heard often enough in the corridors these days.

"I just don't know what to do about Ron. I know he's a good player. But he can't seem to settle."

"Unless you intend to dose him with a potion to boost his confidence — which I understand is strictly against the rules of Quidditch — there's not much you can do apart from supporting him and reminding him that he can, in fact, play well."

Hermione was working on her latest Defense essay, and so missed the gleam in her friend's eye.

"Speaking of 'supporting', we haven't seen you at a practice 'Mione."

"And neither will you. It so happens that when you guys flying around, hitting balls around and generally trying to break your necks, I'm either training or catching up on homework."

Harry frowned and fell silent. This time, Hermione noted the change in his mood. She looked up even as he reached a hand out for her left one, laying as it was on the table. She froze at the sight and Harry's frown became more pronounced. Harry made a noise in the back of his throat. He then gently let his hand come in contact with hers, and Hermione gritted her teeth and controlled the urge to pull back.

"Have you spoken to anyone, Hermione?"

 _This is my friend. He will not hurt me. This is my friend. He will not hurt me._

Hermione repeated this mantra to herself again and again as Harry kept hold of her hand. Finally, he let go with a sigh. And Hermione breathed in deep.

"You're fine when you know it's coming, at least when it's me, Neville, or Luna touching you. And I suppose it's better than the beginning of the year, when you avoided everyone but Luna's touch. But…"

"When did you become so perceptive, Harry?"

"I didn't," her friend grumbled. "Neville had to point it out to me."

Hermione huffed a laugh but said nothing more. Harry sighed and shook his head but he let the matter drop for now. The two Gryffindors continued with their school work in silence, until it was time to go eat.

The morning of match day, Harry was obnoxiously fidgeting with his little vial of Felix Felicis.

"You're not gonna use that, Harry, are you?" Hermione said as she pointed at the potion.

"No idea what you're talking about, Hermione. I don't need it, and neither does anyone else."

Ron looked between the two of them, obviously not having caught Harry's quick move with the bottle. But Hermione had, noticing that the cap was firmly in place too.

"Hey, 'Mione! You are going to come and watch us, right?"

Ron's puppy dog eyes had not worked on her since last school year, although her friend didn't seem to have realized.

"Actually, I was going to train as normal. But I guess the lot of you would disown me if I didn't turn up."

"Damn right, we would," Ginny exclaimed from the other side of the table.

"Then I guess I'll come," Hermione sighed with great exaggeration.

Hermione did just that, following the rest of the Gryffindors to the Quidditch pitch and wondering if there was any way she could slip away at all. But Neville must have read her thoughts as he came to sit by her, giving her a wry look before looking pointedly at the two teams. And so, Hermione cheered dutifully along with the rest of her House as Ron saved shots, Ginny and the other chasers scored, and Harry finally caught the Snitch.

The common room was of course immediately commandeered for an after-game party. The Prefects didn't even try to stop it, knowing it would do no good. Instead, Fay Dunbar shot her an apologetic smile that Hermione dismissed with a half smile and a nod of her head. After all, Gryffindor House thrived on parties and nothing and no one would stop a good party in the common room. With the possible exception of Professor McGonagall, of course. With the party in full swing, Harry siddled back to Hermione's side.

"You all right?"

"Fine," Hermione smiled, but she watched with a little tilt to her head as a frown appeared on his face.

"I'm just… Well, I suppose 'worried' doesn't quite fit, but still is true."

Hermione blinked a few times.

"What about?"

"I'd have thought you'd say something more."

"About what?"

"The potion this morning."

Hermione huffed a laugh. "So this was what it was all about. You wanted me to get on your back about cheating, so Ron would get a confidence booster."

Harry grinned sheepishly and nodded. Hermione laughed and ruffled her friend's black hair. But Ron had caught them talking.

"What's that about potion? You thought I needed some potion to play better, didn't you Hermione?"

Harry winced and opened his mouth to say something, but Ron continued.

"That's right, isn't it? You just can't bear that I might be good at something and you can't do it."

Hermione regarded her long-time friend with something approaching coldness in her eyes.

"You're adding two and two together to make five, Ron."

"No," Ron interrupted again. "You're just jealous. And you're ugly!"

"Hey!" Harry objected, but Ron stalked away to rejoin the celebrations.

Harry made to apologize but Hermione just smiled at him. She then went to sit on one side of the room, watching the festivities. Harry, Ginny, and Neville took turns to sit with her although she waved them away after a little while. They all looked at her somewhat guiltily when Lavender caught Ron into a rather heated embrace, the two of them snogging heavily among cheers from the rest of the House. But Hermione felt nothing at all at the sight of her one-time crush in the arms of another woman.

 _Am I broken, Sephiroth?_ Hermione asked in a detached mental tone.

 **No. You have simply grown up faster due to what happened. You know that the two of you would never have lasted.**

 _Too different,_ commented Hermione.

 **There is that,** Sephiroth agreed.

With a shrug, Hermione pulled one of her fiction novels to read while the others rioted for a while longer. It would be of no use trying to go to sleep right now.

#

Over the next few days, Ron and Lavender made a point to snog at every opportunity. The Gryffindor witch went as far as giggling madly with Patil in the dormitories, comparing the kissing techniques of their current beaus. As far as Hermione was concerned, the other witch didn't have to do that: she just wasn't interested in Ron that way. Not anymore, at least, and in all likelihood never again. And at this moment of time, Ron was far from the nicest person from her point of view. Harry, Neville, and Ginny had made it rather clear they shared her opinion, in particular when they had caught Ron and Lavender sniggering about old ladies with gray hairs last evening. Hermione had escaped the bust up that had resulted, but the shouting had carried quite a way from Gryffindor Tower.

But what Hermione was not expecting was to see Harry and Neville turn up for her session with Parkinson just a few days later. The two witches had met as usual and made their way to the unused classroom. Less than two minutes after they'd arrived, a knock sounded at the door and in came the two Gryffindor wizards.

"Hi! Sorry to disturb you, but Harry and I were wondering if we could get in on those lessons of yours. You girls are getting so much better at Defense and so much faster that we think you have a secret."

Hermione looked back at Pansy who shrugged lightly.

"All right, but Pansy is…"

"Not bothered," the Slytherin witch interrupted with something of a smile playing on her lips. "As long as you guys don't hold me back, we'll be just fine."

"Sure thing, Parkinson," Harry replied before Hermione could say anything else. "Thanks a lot."

Neville echoed the sentiment and so this little Defense group doubled in size overnight. It came as no surprise to Hermione that Harry got on extremely well with the small physical routine she had come up with for Pansy. He was a natural athlete after all. But Neville caught on fairly quickly too and in the space of only two weeks, the boys were fit enough to keep up.

 **You do realize that's not normal, don't you?** Sephiroth asked one evening.

 _Yes. But then again, the same happened to me._

 **No. It wasn't the same, Hermione. My cells run within you. That is what gives you so great a command on the Lifestream. And that's why you've become so powerful a sorceress in such a short time.**

 _So… Are you saying there's something wrong with my friends?_

 **Yes. No. For once, I'm not sure. But no human should be able to pick up on the skills you are teaching them this quickly. And neither should their bodies adapt that rapidly.**

 _But they're not normal human though, are they? They are one witch and two wizards._

Sephiroth had nothing more to say. Despite his knowledge of the Lifestream, gathered in a lifetime that had already spanned several millennia, Sephiroth had the same lack of knowledge about how sorcery worked on Earth as Hermione. Books explained only so much.

 _Maybe this is what sorcery does. What it is…_ Hermione whispered in her mind.

 **I have not sensed the presence of my cells within them,** Sephiroth replied.

 _But then again, no one has ever had a concentration of your cells strong enough to contact you, or I would not have been the first. There have been so great wielders of sorcery over the centuries. Morgana, Merlin… I think even Dumbledore holds some title of that nature. Grand Sorcerer, or something like it._

 **Know what it means, exactly?**

 _Not the faintest idea. And I don't think I want to ask him either._

Hermione carried on splitting her spare time between teaching her new charges and continuing her own training. Although her teachers were often asking her if she wanted some extra credit — with the exceptions of Professor Snape, who never gave any, and Professor Slughorn, who had never witnessed her swottish tendencies — Hermione continued to politely decline, giving her teachers essays that were more or less precisely the required length and just as well researched as usual, but without all the tangents she used to go off on.

The problem of the Muggle attacks continued to play on Hermione's mind. One evening, Hermione sneaked out in the forest and proceeded to let her spirit flow into the Lifestream. As she was a being of flesh rather than spirit, she was unable to access the collective memories of the Planet. And with his connection to her, Sephiroth couldn't either. But Umbra and Shiva could. Although at loath to summon the ice empress for what could be nothing more than a wild goose chase, the young sorceress was rather happy to see the Gaian summon materialize within the flow of the Lifestream just a few moment after Umbra. The shadowcreeper pranced to Hermione and greeted the sorceress with a slight headbutt against her thigh before he laid down at her feet. For her part, the ice empress bowed her head.

"Greetings, Hermione. Sephiroth."

The young witch turned to see the silver-haired SOLDIER stepping to her side within the green Mako lights.

"And to you, Shiva," he said with a smirk.

"Do you know how quickly new memories are assimilated within the Lifestream?" Hermione asked straight away.

"Why do you want to know?" Shiva asked in return.

"The Death Eaters have been attacking Muggles. Of course, the wizarding world is not bothered about that. But I'm worried about how they've been managing it."

"Which is?" the Gaian spirit pushed.

"It seems they are making use of the weather to cover their approach," Sephiroth answered.

"Not a new move for experienced commanders, if I recall well," Shiva commented.

"But what if they're actually using sorcery to cover the attacks."

All three spirits turned to watch the sorceress as she started to pace amidst the swirling light of the Lifestream.

"Why would you say that, Hermione?" Shiva asked.

The young sorceress shook her head as she continued walking in a tight circle.

"Predicting the weather is not that easy. Muggles have the technology — to a point — but the Death Eaters wouldn't know that. And using divination to plan an attack like they are doing would be foolhardy. From what I know of this magical skill, it's usually open to interpretation."

"So," Sephiroth said after a moment, "you think that at least one of them is well versed in sorcery. Or at least enough to be able to manipulate the weather to provide the needed cover for the attacks."

Hermione stopped her pacing and nodded once.

"It's not impossible," Shiva commented. "An affinity with water or wind sorcery could help set things up nicely for that kind of things. And many Terran spirits seem to make a point in remaining involved in the affairs of the physical world. And quite a few have either direct control over local weather, or a power that could be used to provide a diversion of some kind."

"Is there a way to find out?" Hermione asked.

At that, Umbra shook himself and jumped on his feet. His growling bark had the other three looking down at him.

"You think you can spy on the Death Eaters?" Hermione said with a smile.

Umbra nodded.

"He has the advantage of the shadows," Sephiroth commented. "He can blend in and they'll never know he's there."

"They might, if they do have sorcerers among their numbers," Shiva countered. "Just because the Sense Mako spell cannot be easily used by the Terran spell casters, it is not impossible either. And they might just have other spells with similar effects."

Hermione looked down at Umbra, who was placidly looking back at her. But the witch-sorceress could read the tension within the summon, even without his physical body being present.

"Very well. Go if you want, but be careful."

Umbra nodded his draconic head once more and disappeared from the Lifestream. Hermione watched him go and sighed. The last thing she needed was more complications.


	10. The New SOLDIER

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER TEN

The New SOLDIER

Hermione rolled away from the fire blast, letting momentum carry her away from the flames and back onto her feet. But her enemy was fast and she had had barely enough time to raise her blade to block the downward swing coming at her head. The impact reverberated in her arms and she gritted her teeth as she tightened her grip on the handle of her katana.

"Is that the best you can do?"

Hermione snorted. A thought called on her ice magic, and her free hand glowed a frosty mix of white and blue for a second as tiny particles of ice formed above her open palm. The particles grew into semi-transparent shards of ice, each five to six inches and wicked sharp. A booted foot came up and planted itself on the man's middle, and Hermione shoved. Her enemy stood firm, taking nary a step back, but the witch used that strength to propel herself back and away from the man. Once clear, a swipe of her arm sent the ice shards flying at her opponent. It mattered little to her that her attack was stopped by a magical shield. The distraction had been enough that she had been able to move, placing herself behind her foe. She struck, her blade singing through the air. The silver-masked and black-robed man brought Masamune over his head and the two blade met behind him. And the close quarter fight continued.

A flurry of blocks, attacks, deflections, and counters. Blades and magic sung in harmony in the morning sunlight of this autumn day. Hermione was knocked back into a tree, but she got her feet under her fast enough that she dodged the next stroke from the masked man facing her. She stepped under his guard and delivered a jumping knee strike to his gut. The man grunted and stumbled a step back. Hermione swung her blade up under his arm. He pivoted and avoided the attack. She rolled under his counter, coming to her feet behind him. He followed through and she swung her arms up and back over her shoulder, placing Genesis over her back and blocking the attack.

They continued that way for another hour. By then, Hermione was panting, sweat dripping steadily from her body. But she refused to stop. Steel flashed and blades clashed, sparking. And Hermione pushed forward with all her might. Her adversary gave way and a fist came flying at her head. The witch jumped back and out of the way.

"Stop."

Hermione blinked, her sword still at the ready. The man facing her straightened, slowly lowering his guard. But Hermione stood unmoving.

"Dispell."

The trees and the clearing shimmered and slowly disappeared, making way to four stone walls, a large fireplace and two comfortable armchairs placed in front of the roaring fire. The masked man shimmered and disappeared too, replaced by Sephiroth.

"I must admit, you would have made a wonderful addition to SOLDIER back on Gaia. Your learning capabilities are incredible and your body is adapting remarkably well."

"A consequence of the Sephiroth cells?" Hermione asked as she finally lowered her weapon, her katana returning to its wand form.

"Maybe," Sephiroth edged. "Although I think that your repeated immersions into the Lifestream have probably more to do with this. Shinra proved that immersion in Mako would strengthen someone's abilities, whether or not they were enhanced to begin with."

Hermione approached her seat, slowly lowering herself into the plushy chair and relaxing her burning muscles as much as she could. The Room of Requirements had proved its worth once again. It was nice being able to see Sephiroth in front of her without the drawbacks of spending a prolonged time in the Lifestream. Sure, she didn't suffer withdrawals symptoms as much as she used to, but the drain on her magical core could still be felt, in particular if she had magic-intensive lessons afterward, like Transfiguration, Charms, or Defense.

The young sorceress had intensified her training the moment Shiva, Umbra, and Sephiroth had agreed that the Death Eaters were using sorcery themselves. But practicing the forms had nothing on actually duelling. Amazingly enough, on her next solo visit to the Come and Go Room, she had been met by an exact _physical_ replica of Sephiroth and Masamune. And somehow, the Room tapped into Sephiroth's consciousness so that he could direct the puppet into attacking Hermione. Another time, she had been faced with Greyback and the female Lestrange, both wielding magic, including sorcery, and swords. It seemed Hogwarts was quite happy to vary her opponents, going as far as having her spar against members of the Order of the Phoenix and members of the original SOLDIER. Sephiroth had laughed within her mind and had taken a fiendish delight in helping the sorceress wipe the floor with both Genesis and Cloud.

With the assistance of Shiva and Sephiroth, Hermione had strategized to decide on the best Mako spells to learn going forward. Given the restriction on the number of active materia the young sorceress could carry, Sephiroth had decided it was rather important to get it right first time.

"I'm not sure why you worry so much, Sephiroth? If something goes wrong, I'll just create another materia and start again."

"No."

"Why not?"

"First of all, a materia is made up of energy stolen from the Planet. You're effectively killing it a little each time you create one. Second, materia grow in power with use. I would rather not stop whatever plans we set in motion simply because you need to retrain a materia. Third, even if our enemy is using sorcery, it is unlikely they will know about materia. If they see us manipulating one, they'll get curious. And some of them sound clever enough to work it out. And last, it is highly doubtful we will ever find another wand with a materia core for you to use. So we will work out your Mako spells, teach the most useful ones to your wand — or at least, those we need faster than others — create the materia we need to supplement your power base, equip them, and not touch them again until this war is over and done with."

Hermione had tutted but finally given her mentor a short nod. The Death Eaters might be crazy, but they were far from stupid. And they were bound to have supporters within Ravenclaw House. And so, she had learned. To their combined knowledge, there were no more Mako spell her wand could learn. But she could now cast a variety of them at half the fatigue cost to her magic and with no need to think about it.

"Hermione?"

Hermione blinked as Sephiroth's call broke into her thoughts. The witch watched him. He was still standing, and seemed to be waiting for her. Hermione shrugged and nodded once.

"I wanted to speak of your special attacks."

Hermione gave the silver-haired general her full attention as Sephiroth paced the perimeter of the room.

"As you know, all SOLDIERs came up with their own sets of fancy moves. I have Octaslash and Super Nova. Genesis had Apocalypse and Angeal had Rush Assault. Zack made a specialty of learning the attacks of others. Cloud developed both versions of his Omnislash based on my own Octaslash. Now that we have decided on your Mako spells, you will need to work on your own SOLDIER moves."

Hermione rolled her eyes but nodded. After all, if they were going to revive SOLDIER as an organization, they were going to need to bring back the rules and traditions that went with it.

"Very well," the witch replied.

"We also need to work out if using your summons in battle is a worthwhile option."

Hermione sighed and as she nodded. Even though she loved Umbra and Shiva, summoning while in battle could be a dangerous move. Umbra needed only a thought to come to her side, but it required complete focus to send that thought across the Lifestream. Hermione had gone as far timing the time it took her to launch her summon across magic, time, and space. And fair enough, it only took her a total of three seconds to ask Umbra to come to her, but she was at the mercy of her enemies during those three seconds, unable to defend herself or even dodge an attack. To call on Shiva required even more resources, as she needed to back the summon with a large amount of magic. And she still was unable to call on the One-Winged Angel himself.

"There's got to be a way to summon you."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"You know what I mean, Sephiroth."

"Yes. And I'm sure there is. But have you considered that maybe, just maybe, there is a good reason you have been unsuccessful so far."

"Not enough power."

"Or maybe it's just not meant to be."

"Nonsense, Sephiroth."

One of the books she had read had mentioned that some summons required more magic than others because the spirits had forgotten their forms or it had been completely obliterated from existence at their passing to the spiritual realms. And then there was the demons and elementals, the beings that were born in the spiritual world and could only cross into the physical planes if a sorcerer powerful enough summoned and bound them in time and space. Hermione suspected that the situation with the Gaian summons was different — after all, they came to Earth in an invisible rush of the Lifestream and without physical forms, and unlike Umbra, they had not found a form to claim as their own when they arrived, choosing instead to assimilate into the Lifestream and disappear within its green warmth. To call on Shiva was to actually use her powers to give her form. It required only five or so seconds longer than it took her to summon Umbra, but far more magic. Hermione suspected that it might be because Shiva's form should not exist on Earth.

"And we need new recruits."

That stopped Hermione's mind in its tracks.

"Recruits?"

Sephiroth finally took a seat in the opposing chair, one long leg rising and bending so that Sephiroth slouched back with his right ankle resting on top of his left knee.

"If we are going to re-create SOLDIER, we will need more than just you within the ranks."

"What? You want to ask Harry, Neville, and Pansy to join?"

"They are getting the training, are they not?"

Hermione huffed a breath and shook her head. "They're also children on opposite sides of a war."

"So?" Sephiroth shrugged. "They have been raised to become the foot soldiers of this war of principles. I — we — are offering them the opportunity to become more. To have a chance at really changing the tides of the battle. For better or worse, they already are warriors. Now they have a chance at becoming SOLDIERs."

Hermione sighed. However much she hated the thought, Sephiroth was right. They had all been groomed into taking responsibility for ending the war, but had been handed barely adequate weapons to do the job with. If the wizarding world wanted them to do the job for them, they should not cry at the consequences.

"You know, you lot are already so much like we once were."

"Explain," Hermione said.

"Neville is Angeal, loyal and honorable. Harry is Zack, willing to fight and die for his dream. Pansy is Genesis, conflicted in his knowledge of both sides of the coming conflict and where that leaves his own honor and dreams."

"Does that make me you? The fallen angel who sought to destroy his world…"

"I would hope not," the silver-haired swordsman blinked slowly. "Because you have the potential to succeed where I failed."

#

She continued to split her free time between her own training and that of Harry, Neville, and Pansy. She had let slipped her knowledge of sorcery during their first training of the month, when Pansy twisted her ankle during a practice duel. Her Mako-enhanced ice pack had all three of her year mates asking all sorts of questions. Hermione had explained as far as she had been willing: after her capture, she had learned sorcery and had been using it ever since to enhance and supplement her wand magic. The three seemed to have come to a common accord that they would squeeze from her every ounce of knowledge she was willing to part with about sorcery. And so, Hermione had loaned them in turn her beginner-level books and demonstrated some of her Mako spells, as well as admitted the reason why her shields were so strong was because she was layering **Barrier** and **M-Barrier** along with her _Protego_ charm. The three took to sorcery eagerly. At their insistence, and despite her protests that the crystals were only prototypes, Hermione gave each of her trainees one of her early attempts at witch-made materia and showed them how to teach the two shielding Mako spells to their crystals.

Hermione was both taken aback and completely unsurprised when Luna and a few others started to drop in on their sessions now and then after Harry, Neville, and Pansy showed off their new shields during their Defense lessons. In an unspoken agreement, no mention of sorcery or materia were made during those sessions. Interest came and went, but over the next few days, Ravenclaw Luna Lovegood, and Hufflepuffs Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot became permanent fixtures in Hermione's training sessions. Eventually, Sephiroth gave them all the title of cadets while the three budding sorcerers were promptly promoted to Third Class.

"You do realize that none of them have any idea of what SOLDIER is. Or even that I'm a part of it."

 **Technically speaking,** _ **you**_ **are** _ **all**_ **of SOLDIER. Or you were** **…**

"You know what I mean, Sephiroth."

 **Nevertheless.**

Hermione shrugged the thought away. With the first week of December came the first snow. It was late in the season but not an unwelcome sight for the student body. It settled in a light white blanket that only lasted a few hours. But the change in temperature was felt for much longer. Hermione decided to change her routine there and then. Morning sessions were stopped altogether, the time being now dedicated to her witchcraft and wizardry studies. And she used the evenings to do her physical training, starting with a run around the lake, before the afternoon light died a wintery death. She then continued in the castle, usually in the Room of Requirements or an empty classroom. A few days later, Hermione was reminded by her friends that she still had to deal with the Slughorn's upcoming Christmas party. Harry actually asked Luna if she would go with him before they started their latest session.

"Sure, I'll go with you," Luna replied in her usual calm and airy way. "What about you, Hermione? I assume you've been invited."

Hermione made a face. "I have. And it's probably the last thing I want to be involved with."

"You could meet plenty of influential people there," Susan commented. "I know my aunt was a member of the Slug Club, although she said it was more of a necessity than a pleasure."

"Pansy, I'll give you ten galleons if you Polyjuice yourself into me and attend in my place."

"Not on your life," the Slytherin replied with a little smirk. "I'm quite happy not to rate an invite."

The banter continued through the rest of the session but as they were preparing to leave the classroom, an owl landed just outside the window, tapping repeatedly against the glass until Luna let it in. The bird flew straight for Hermione, depositing an official-looking envelope into her hands before flying off. The witch-sorceress turned the letter over and narrowed her eyes at the seal.

"Hermione?" Harry said as he approached.

"It's from the Ministry."

"What do they want?" the young man asked as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

Hermione shrugged at that, slipping her finger under the seal to open the missive. She read the content and scoffed.

"Hermione?"

"Apparently, the Ministry is worried over my continued safety. They intend to select a guardian to watch over me and my affairs until I have finished my education."

"Aren't you already an adult, legally?" Pansy asked as she approached, her right hand raised.

"I am," Hermione confirmed as she handed over the parchment. "As of last September in the wizarding world, and as of last August in the Muggle one."

Pansy frowned as she read through the letter. "Are they mad? ' _Difficult situation_ _… Past and present threats from third parties… Mental and physical damages from attack… Bring you under the protection of a respectable wizarding family… All assets to be brought under the umbrella of your guardian… marriage contract to be arranged…_ ' Those sounds like the terms of a magical adoption."

"You mean, like they used to do in the Middle Ages?" Hermione asked. "A way to bring new blood into the wizarding world while increasing magic and wealth, but without sharing their name with the adopted."

Pansy nodded slowly. Susan came to stand just behind the Slytherin witch, reading over her shoulder. Hermione felt her lips twitch as the dark witch let their year mate read in this position. The Gryffindor knew that just a few months ago, the snakeling would not have let anyone face her back.

"They can't do that," Neville and Harry muttered in unison.

Hermione shrugged again.

"They can try. I doubt Nagnok is going to be too pleased, to be fair. After all, he was the one who trawled through the mountain of paperwork I generated for him over the summer, trying to secure every loophole he could think of as he established the House of Granger."

"It's illegal," Susan said after she finished reading. "They are effectively saying you are not of sound mind, and consequently cannot look after yourself. This call should only be made by a qualified and registered Healer. And you have not seen such person."

Hermione waved a dismissive hand through the air.

"This is irrelevant anyway. House Granger is official and by the sound of it, Nagnok has used long forgotten but still enforceable by-laws to make it near enough impossible for me to be placed under the control of anyone currently living."

 **Myself being the exception** , Sephiroth chuckled in the witch's mind.

Hermione ignored the angel with practiced ease. She looked between the 'Third Classes' and the 'trainees'.

"Umbra."

The shadowcreeper appeared in the room, bumping his draconic head into Hermione's thigh.

"Is that a wyrm?" Luna asked as she skipped to Umbra.

Hermione was far from surprised when Umbra never protested the additional hand scratching from the Ravenclaw. The others stayed at a respectable distance though, and Hermione was quite sure the spirit would not have welcome their attentions anyway.

"He's a shadowcreeper. To the best of my knowledge, he's one of a kind although I wouldn't be surprised to learn he was responsible for the existence of wyrms and dragons."

A wave of her hand summoned the letter and she handed it over to Umbra.

"Would you mind delivering this to Nagnok? I'm not sure if he'll have received a copy, as the manager of our House."

Umbra nodded and carefully grabbed the letter with his fangs before dissipating in shadowy smoke and Mako lights. Hermione turned back to her fellow students, watching the awed expressions on Pansy, Neville, and Harry's faces, and the mixed feelings seeming to emanate from Susan and Hannah.

"I guess I should explain — or explain some more — about sorcery."

#

Hermione wasted little time after receiving that letter from the Ministry. Nagnok had confirmed he had not been informed and had in turn contacted the Ministry as the current representative of House Granger, advising them against continuing their attempts. The Goblin had told the sorceress that he had made it quite clear to the Ministry that House Granger was perfectly safe, not their problem, and nor had they a right to assign a legal guardian to any member of the House. The Ministry had not replied, and Hermione guessed they intended to ignore these points.

With the holidays just a couple of weeks away, Hermione determined to make her preparations for the time away from the school. She left her beginners' sorcery books with the Third Classes, all of them now intending to learn as much as they could about this lost art. They wanted to learn sorcery as an added talent. Hermione had warned them it might be not be possible, but agreed to refocus part of their training sessions to deal with sorcery.

With that sorted, she tried to look into magical adoptions. The subject had been somewhat touched upon in History of Magic, but Hermione wanted to learn more. The books were readily accessible in the Library, and Madam Pince was happy enough to direct her to the right section. As the Slytherin and Hufflepuff witches had intimated, the Ministry seemed to have decided that she would be better off as the possession of a wizarding family. She had no idea if they had already approached some people for the rather dubious job — or if some families had already stepped forward after planting the idea into the Ministry's collective minds. But she had an idea on how to find out. And so she visited the office of a certain Professor Severus Snape that evening.

"Not the person I was expecting," the wizard said as he watched her cross his office and take a seat opposite his desk.

"Are you waiting for someone, Professor?"

"Our Deputy Head, as a matter of fact. What do you want?"

"I would like to request access to one of the student labs. I need to practice brewing."

Snape sat there, saying nothing.

"All right. I need to brew a selection of healing potions and ointments for the coming holidays. Calming, Peace, and Invigorating draughts, Bruise and Burn pastes, Murtlap and Dittany essences, Dreamless Sleep and Pepperup…"

Snape raised his hand and Hermione stopped.

"Why do you want to open a hospital, Miss Granger? St Mungo's has always been enough before."

Hermione huffed a laugh. "That's all for me, sir. But there's something else I need to ask you. Something you might not want to tell me but I need to know."

Snape straightened, obviously noticing the change of tone. The witch in front of him gave a half smile.

"Is the Dark Lord behind the recent interest in instituting an official guardianship over my being?"

The man blinked slowly. But he said nothing. And Hermione nodded in turn. That cleared one of her questions.

"I don't suppose you intend to play along, Miss Granger. I can assure you that the Dark Lord is looking to keep you alive for as long as possible, although nothing has been said about you being comfortable during this time."

Hermione scoffed. "The only person I might agree to become my guardian would be you, Professor. I think Dumbledore and the Dark Lord both would agree on a few points to keep their spy safe from the other side. However, the point is moot considering the… legal implications of dealing with House Granger."

"Legal implications?"

Hermione settled back into her seat, considering the dark wizard facing her.

"I'll make you a deal, Professor. If you make me a list of whatever healing potions you can give me, as well as give me access to the labs and the school supplies to brew whatever else I think I might need, I will give you information that might just allow you to score a few brownie points with either — or both — of your masters."

Hermione nibbled at the corner of her bottom lip, a little smirk gracing her features as her professor's gaze snapped to her face and narrowed.

"What makes you think you have any information either the Headmaster or the Dark Lord might find useful?"

"Oh, I know that at least one of them would be interested. And I know it's something no one but myself and the goblins know, at this moment in time. Of course, I can't attest as to the… importance of my information. But I believe it would be at the very least somewhat useful to both the chess masters playing this game."

"I will allow you access to the infirmary so that you can retrieve a maximum of two vials of each of the potions you've mentioned, plus any others that might take your fancy. I reserve judgment on granting you access to the labs and supplies."

"Said judgment will be passed on the value of my first piece of information. No access, no second tip."

"Deal, Miss Granger."

The Defense Professor stretched his hand across the desk and Hermione leaned forward to shake it.

"Now, allow me to tell you a little story, Professor. Once upon a time, there was a little girl who could do magic when her parents could not. Once she turned eleven, she received a letter telling her she was a witch and she was to attend a prestigious school to learn control over her gift."

"Is this really necessary, Miss Granger?" the dour wizard huffed.

"Fine," Hermione sighed exaggeratedly. "But you do need some background. It so happens that my parents were both wealthy and proud. Proud enough that when an opportunistic goblin asked whether they wanted to open an account for their precious little girl, they spared no expense. They paid every fee and deposited enough to secure the beginning of a new wizarding line: the House of Granger."

"Is there a point to all this, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, sir. I'm coming to it. Now in the spring, I became the _de facto_ Head of House Granger. In July, the fact was confirmed by the goblins. The situation with the Muggle authorities was straightened out real fast by my account manager. Given how close my birthday was, we decided to let nature take its course when it came to the wizarding world rather than me risking a trip to the Ministry to sign the paperwork needed. And now we come to the really interesting part.

"There are two things that will become relevant to the current situation very soon. One is that House Granger is a matriarchal line. No man can ever be appointed my guardian. You can also point out to whoever will listen that I didn't choose that, the goblins did it when they realized that I already had a magical guardian — a powerful one at that. Given the… nature of that relationship, they deemed that ultimate control of House Granger would forevermore rest with that guardian. Before you ask how you would have found this out, the existence of House Granger is a matter of public record. Anyone with half a brain can find this information through the Ministry's records or simply by asking Gringotts. This ties in with the second piece of information I want to give you."

Hermione stopped talking then, watching her professor. The wizard seemed pensive… Not that she could tell for certain, given the impenetrable mask that was his usual expression.

"You are correct that this information might be useful to my masters. However, I should ask why they do not know of this already."

"That, I can't say for sure beyond the fact that Nagnok had a claw in it."

"Nagnok?"

"My Gringotts manager. Actually, he's the manager for House Granger. I know he did something to… dissuade people from looking for any records citing the name of Granger."

"I see. Goblin privacy wards. Very good at diverting casual researchers. They would not hold under a determined investigator."

Snape said nothing more for a while, and Hermione finally sighed.

"So? Do I get access to the labs and the supplies?"

"Very well," Snape replied after a beat of silence. "I will put your name on the list of authorized users. What is your other piece of information?"

"Actually, this one is more of a warning," Hermione said as she stood. "House Granger is very much aware that the Death Eaters are using sorcery. We know this because sorcery runs in our blood. I myself am an ice sorceress."

"This is how you've done so well in Defense this year," Snape muttered.

"Yes. I've been using my recently unlocked sorcery to boost my spells. Oh, and if it comes up, that's also how I escaped wherever it was I was being held. Or to be more precise, my guardian found me and got me out after my powers awoke. But I digress. My warning is this: no one, and I mean no one, should attempt to claim guardianship. Because I already have a guardian. And neither he nor I are willing to become puppets under the control of either the Headmaster or the Dark Lord. We'll kill everyone involved before that happens. Nagnok can help you verify who my guardian is, I think. But I would be careful not to ask too many questions. I couldn't care less, personally. But my guardian values his… privacy."

With these parting words, Hermione stood and, bowing her head slightly to the dark wizard, left Severus Snape to his thoughts.

#

School life continued and Hermione let herself forget about the Ministry and their plans. She continued training with the Third Class SOLDIERs, though they still had no idea how she thought of them. As amazing as Pansy, Neville, and Harry's development had been, the three new recruits were even more so. It was as if the presence of other sorcerers during training were pushing that branch of magic to grow ever faster within its practitioners.

A couple of days before the start of the Christmas holidays, Professor Snape kept Hermione back after class. The witch shrugged at her friends, since nothing particularly wrong had happened during the lesson, and stayed in her seat as the other filed out. After the last of her classmates left, the dark wizard waved his wand, locking and warding the room against eavesdroppers.

"I think you should know a few things, Miss Granger."

Hermione straightened as her professor started to pace in front of his desk. She watched the man walked along the width of the room, deep lines furrowing the skin across his forehead and between his eyebrows.

"First of all, I have heard that the Ministry of Magic is coming on the twenty-first, along with several representatives of pureblood families, to settle the matter of your guardianship."

The sorceress couldn't help the snort from escaping. The dark wizard stopped and turned to watch her.

"I wouldn't scoff at this, Miss Granger. If we cannot prevent this, you will be placed under the guardianship of a Death Eater."

"Let them try."

Hermione watched the lines on her professor's face deepen and she smirked, pulling on all the memories of Sephiroth and letting his arrogant confidence settle across her mind.

 **We have little to fear from the Ministry,** Sephiroth whispered in her mind. **But we shouldn** **'t discount the Death Eaters.**

 _I know._

 **My question is, can we trust Professor Snape?**

Hermione settled her mismatched gaze onto the dark wizard before her.

"My guardian poses a good question. Can we trust you, Professor?"

The dark wizard blinked. "No."

 **I like him,** Sephiroth chuckled.

His amusement carried over as Hermione's lips twitched into a little grin. She let her head dropped into a small bow of acknowledgment. She finally stood and picked up her bag.

"One last piece of knowledge, professor, to do with as you wish. My loyalty is to SOLDIER first and foremost. I can never join the Dark Lord, since he seeks both my death and Harry's. And understanding more about Dumbledore now, I cannot remain aligned with him either since he seems intent on using not only Harry, but also the rest of us as a simple chess pieces in this war. He simply expects us to follow his orders, unable or unwilling to share the reasons behind his own ruthless behavior. And this has come to threaten SOLDIER."

"Soldier? Who are you talking about, Miss Granger?"

"Not who, professor, what," Hermione said as she stood straight, her eyes glowing with Mako power. "I am First Class SOLDIER Hermione, warrior, witch, and sorceress under the guardianship of Sephiroth. Head of House Granger and currently the last of my name. Protector of the Planet. And with you as my witness, I will not let anyone use SOLDIER against the Planet, knowingly or not."

Hermione casually slung her bag over a shoulder and turned to walk out of the room. As she neared the door, Professor Snape silently lowered his wards and the door swung open for her. With a parting nod, Hermione walked out of the classroom.

#

Back in Gryffindor Tower that evening, the atmosphere was rather relaxed. The end of term exams had come and gone and everyone was rather excited about the coming holidays. There was only one day left of class before the weekend and the trip back home. Hermione had spent a good hour with the rest of the SOLDIERs training, everyone but Pansy very enthusiastic. Harry and Neville had managed to tease a smile out of the Slytherin witch before the end of the session, but Hermione had taken her apart to let her know that family was more important than friendship.

"But you feel just as much family as they do," the Slytherin had muttered, not surprised in the least that Hermione had known why she was upset.

"Family can be chosen by your heart just as much as it can be given by your blood," Hermione conceded. "But neither should condemned you for your choices, however much they might not like it."

"My father is a Death Eater. He may not have taken part in your torture, but he would have joined in had he the opportunity."

"You are not your father. And in any event, given the right incentive, people can change rather dramatically." Hermione placed her hands on the other witch's shoulders. "Find your dreams and reach for them, Pansy. And above all else, protect your honor. In our situation, with the demons of war snarling at our doors, it's all any of us can do."

"And if my honor dictates that I stand by my father's side in the coming war?"

"Then we will meet on the field of battle. We might even fight. And we will do so honorably."

The Slytherin had left with a simple nod. Hermione shook her head, forcing her mind back in the present. The Gryffindors were happily celebrating the near end of term. Not that Gryffindor needed any excuse to throw a party.

"You'll never guess what I found on my bed," Harry said as he dropped on the seat next to her.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him in a move reminiscent of both Snape and Sephiroth.

"Someone left me an early christmas present."

"Really?"

"Yep. Box of chocolate. Was that you?"

"Nope. I have something in mind for you, and it's not chocolate."

"Hmmm…"

"What… No card with it?"

"Nope."

"Then I'd be careful. You never know who could have sent it."

"What? You think Voldie would have sent me poisoned sweets?"

"Death by chocolate… Not a bad way to go."

"You're a girl. You would say that."

Hermione smiled. Harry shrugged and stuffed the box in his bag.

"I'll dump them when I get back up. Now, have you decided who you're going to take to Slughorn's party?"

"Myself," Hermione replied as she slouched in her seat.

Harry nodded to himself, unsurprised even as his gaze settled on Ron who was playing a game of Exploding Snap with Ginny.

"You're going off on your own again for the holidays?"

"Yes."

Harry's gaze cut to his female best friend. "Will you be safe?"

Hermione half smiled at her friend. "Safer than you will be at the Burrow."

The younger wizard nodded once, accepting her answer. "Don't forget to write."

Hermione huffed a laugh - after all, Harry was the one who had issued with written communication over the holidays - and the two friends watched the rest of Gryffindor have their fun until it was time for bed. The following day went by as normal. In Transfiguration, they learned to dye their eyebrows. And Hagrid had the class looking at dragons and how best to approach them. Hermione privately thought that Harry could have done with this lesson a couple of years ago. As evening fell, Hermione reluctantly went back to her room to get ready for the party. Alone in the room, she pulled her SOLDIER uniform from her dresser.

 **SOLDIERs never had to go formal,** Sephiroth commented.

Hermione smirked. "What? You never had to smooch up to the President?"

 **No. The little downtime we had was usually spent healing, resting, or training.**

Hermione let her SOLDIER uniform drop back into the drawer. Instead, she took one of her Hogwarts uniform out and laid it on her bed. She transfigured the gray trousers into a knee-length straight skirt made of black stretchy material, and her white shirt into a tight, sleeveless, form-fitting, black top. Her school jumper became a black dress jacket with a stiff collar and simple epaulettes decorated with a single silver star; the whole thing was trimmed in silver. Her white school socks were changed into thigh-high black stockings; her combat boots into black calf-high boots, polished to a high shine. She pulled her new clothes on, along with her black gloves. She added a black leather belt with a silver buckle to secure the jacket close. A couple of waves of her wand, and she put the finishing touches to her new dress uniform: a blood red cape, and a sheath. A thought summoned Genesis from her wand, and she tucked the blade away in the sheath. Hermione stood in front of the full-length mirror tucked in a corner of the room and quickly brushed her hair into a French twist, pinning the silver and brown strands up with magic. With a final nod to her reflection, Hermione left her room.

The common room was full and once again in party mode as she made her way down. Harry, Ron, and Neville were standing by the entrance. Ron was talking to the other two, his arms moving about as he apparently tried to make his point. The redhead was in school uniform while the other two wore dress robes, as they were both invited to Slughorn's party. As she made her way through the room, Hermione drew looks and whispers which she expertly ignored. Neville looked up and blinked, gaping slightly at her. The other two turned to look and ended up with a similar expression on their faces.

"What?" Hermione asked as she drew near.

"What are you wearing?" Ron said with a frown.

Hermione held back a smirk and blinked. "My uniform?"

"That's not a school uniform."

"Ron," Hermione huffed with a laugh, "this is my SOLDIER dress uniform. Tonight's party is a public function. As a First Class, I officially represent the organization during these kinds of shindig."

"Well, you still can't go on your own!"

Hermione frowned slightly, looking to Harry and Neville for an idea of what was going on.

"Ron thinks you should take him with you. He thinks it'd be just sad if you turned up on your own."

 **Correct me if I** **'m wrong here, Hermione, but didn't he say something similar to you just a couple of years ago?**

 _Yes._

Hermione's answer was short and in direct contradiction to the relaxed expression on her face. She breathed in deeply and walked away without a word. The three Gryffindors spent the evening mingling, fully aware that Ron would probably be in a very bad mood by the time they went back. Hermione answered many a query about her clothes and took the opportunity to put the name of SOLDIER out there, a small unit of people, Muggles and wizards alike, trained in combat and willing to fight the good fight.

 **When has SOLDIER ever been a force for good?**

 _Since I decided so, as the current General of SOLDIER._

 **Ah** **… Shinra, Hojo, and the rest of them must be turning in their graves.**

 _And are you worried about that?_

 **Not in the slightest. Carry on.**

The rest of the evening passed with no real incident. Malfoy was caught trying to sneak in and Snape left to handle it. In the end, Hermione went back to Gryffindor Tower without trouble and even managed to sneak past a sleeping Ron. Now if only she could disappear from Hogwarts tomorrow with as little trouble, she could have a perfect start to her holidays.

#

 **Author Note:**

*gasp* It's an update! Just don't get used to it. It's taken me this long this time around and you might well wait just as long for the next chapter considering how things are going in my life.

And to those of you who managed to guilt me into writing/editing/posting this? Thank you!


	11. Sorcerous Holidays

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own the worlds and characters featured in this Harry Potter X Final Fantasy VII fanfiction, nor do I have permission to use them. The settings and characters from the Harry Potter universe are owned and trademarked by JK Rowling and the many licensors of her work. The settings and characters from the Final Fantasy multi-verse are owned by Square Enix (I think) and the many licensors of her work. I do not make money through this story.

 **Trigger warning:**

This story deals with dark themes and though I have tried to avoid graphic depictions, it involves violence, rape, death, and the fallout of these events. Please read with caution.

On with the story…

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Sorcerous Holidays

The following morning saw Hermione back in her regular SOLDIER outfit, though she took the time to commit the dress uniform she had designed to memory before undoing the charms. She would show the memory to Nagnok and ask him to help her commission several of them for special occasions. As she tugged on her leather coat, she wondered if any of what she had said last night had gotten through to the thick minds of the wizarding world. After all, she had made a point to talk with as many people as she could, including politicians though she despised them as much as they looked down on her for her birth. With a wave of her wand, Hermione shrunk her trunk and tucked it in her inside pocket before she secured her wand at the small of her back. As she made her way down, she was surprised to be stopped by a First Year.

"Hey, Hermione. Professor McGonagall says you need to get to the Great Hall. Quickly."

"Hermione blinked. "Okay."

The witch-sorceress watched the little First Year bounce away for a moment.

 **Know what she wants?**

 _Not in the slightest._

Hermione decided that making her Head of House wait was probably not conducive to her good health. And so she quickly made her way down, barely restraining herself from jumping over the rail and down a few floors. It wouldn't do to get used to this mode of transport. With breakfast over and everyone getting ready to board the train back to London, the young witch was not surprised to only see few people in the corridors. She was however very surprised to see a good number of students and guests gathered by the Head Table as she walked through the open doors of the Great Hall. The discussion was going well even without her input. Snatches of conversation floated up to her, the shrill tones of Mrs Weasley, the cold voice of Lord Malfoy, and the weedy inflections of one Dolores Umbridge among those she recognized. Most of the others were standing in front of the Head Table, watching those three talk.

"Hermione is a friend to four of our children. She has to come to us!"

"Miss Granger would be far better served with a guardianship under our name," replied Malfoy.

"But there are more than just two families in this process. Many wish to take guardianship of the girl."

The last had been Umbridge's, and Hermione could not help but smirk at the hate that could be heard simmering beneath the words. A quick glance around the rest of the room confirmed the toad's argument. She saw Pansy standing beside a couple who probably were her parents. A few more of her school mates were present, all with one or more adults. Neville, Luna, and Susan were looking distinctively uncomfortable, as were Pansy and Harry, who was standing a few steps away from the Weasleys. She recognized Theodore Nott and the Patil twins. Behind the Head Table, the Headmaster and the Minister were talking along with a few other people in wizarding robes. Professor Snape and McGonagall were standing to one side, watching Dumbledore as he talked in a low voice with Fudge. How the slimy man had managed to remain in power after the debacle that last year had been, she would never know. It probably had to do with Malfoy Senior though. Minerva caught sight of her and quickly made her way around the room, trying and failing to be subtle about it. After all, subtlety was not one of the lions' qualities.

"They mean to choose a guardian for you, Miss Granger. The Headmaster wants a quick word first, though."

"I had already gathered the first, Professor. I have little to say to the Headmaster. And the time for listening has long since passed."

Hermione gave her Head of House a half smile then looked back over the room. Draco was talking to his mother, gesticulating in her general direction. Lady Malfoy wore a slightly pinched look, and Hermione wondered if she was more annoyed about telling no to her son or having to pretend liking the idea of a Muggleborn joining her household. The Gryffindor witch frowned slightly as she spied Sanguini leaning against a wall on the Slytherin's side of the room.

 ** _Umbra,_** _get Nagnok here._

With a shake of her head, Hermione straightened. The sorceress shrugged her shoulders to settle the drape of her coat around her. She then started down the room, her boots striking loudly against the stones. Her approach was noted by more people. She saw the SOLDIERs were slowly losing the panic that marked their faces. Maybe they could see the arrogant determination on her own, and it settled their fears. If that was the case, Hermione was glad.

"Ah, Miss Granger…"

Umbridge made to step in her direction but Hermione breezed past her with a condescending sneer. The sorceress walked up to the Head Table.

"May I ask why it is these fine families have been gathered in Hogwarts on this day, Minister?"

Dumbledore and Fudge broke off from their discussion.

"Miss Granger, have you not received our message from a few weeks ago? Madam Umbridge will explain the details then."

" ** _No,_** " Hermione said, putting enough power behind the word to silence the rest of the conversations across the Great Hall. "I am asking you, sir. I have received your… missive. And I have responded, personally. Nagnok, House Granger's Gringotts manager, assures me he answered as well. House Granger doesn't need a guardian. Because it already has one. Everything was settled by the time I became a legal adult in the wizarding world. Because I am seventeen as of last September, an adult in the Ministry's eyes, and so not _needing_ a guardian. The Muggle government has received and accepted my emancipation. They seem happy to continue as before, as long as the relevant rules and regulations are followed until I reach the Muggle legal age of eighteen. And so I wonder why the Ministry for Magic is interfering with something that has absolutely nothing to do with them."

The witch's voice echoed in the Great Hall. Hermione kept her mismatched gaze onto Fudge and the wizard looked flustered, something between offended and scared out of his wits. But Hermione couldn't care less as her focus switched. She felt the gathering of power behind her before the wizard even loosed his spell. She was ready for it, turning with her left hand extended and her shield of wizardry and sorcery mixed sparking into existence with only a thought. The jet of red light crashed into the barrier, swirling lights of green briefly lighting her face as the magics met.

"I see," Hermione commented as she watched Yaxley lower his wand with a frown.

"You have no right to attack my student," Minerva McGonagall shouted.

But Hermione kept her attention of the mix group of Aurors and hit wizards in the room. She knew Tonks and Kingsley from the Order of the Phoenix, and Yaxley and Macnair as Death Eaters. She wasn't sure who the others were, or where they stood. But it made little difference anyway. They would obey orders, and that would involve fighting her. All had their wands trained on her now.

"Miss Granger, you need to see sense," Fudge started. "You are too young to look after yourself."

"Am I or am I not seventeen, Minister?" The man gaped at her and Hermione sneered. "Actually, I'm probably closer to eighteen now. After all, I did use a Time Turner during my Third Year. Never really bothered to calculate just how much time was tacked on to my being…"

The sorceress leaned her head sideways for a moment then lowered her arm as she straightened, her black leather coat settling around her.

"Whether or not the Ministry would acknowledge that time, my birth certificate would confirm that I've been an adult for just over three months."

"Be that as it may, Miss Granger," the Minister exclaimed, "you have no mean to provide for yourself. And no place to go. It is our duty…"

"Duty?" Hermione scoffed. "Duty! What do you know of duty? Or honor?"

The harsh tones of Gobbledygook stayed Hermione's tongue. Nagnok came charging past her.

"This is highly irregular, and to be quite frank completely illegal," the goblin said in his accented but fully understandable English as he marched to the Head Table. "Gringotts has recognized the House of Granger years ago. Upon the deaths of Mr and Mrs Granger, the title of Head of House transfered to Hermione Granger. Given her age at the time, we requested the confirmation of her guardian which we received. When she came of age, we filed all relevant documentations with the Ministry, in triplicate. She is now an adult in the wizarding world, and emancipated in the Muggle world."

As he spoke, Nagnok deposited roll after roll of parchment in front of Fudge and Dumbledore.

"As for sustaining herself, if you would please refer to the following documents, you will see that Miss Granger is wealthy enough to not have to worry about counting knuts at this moment in time. She owns her property outright, and has enough liquid worth that she could easily afford to pay for any three apprenticeships of her choice. Her parents had looked ahead and have paid for all her schooling ahead of time, so Miss Granger's attendance at Hogwarts cannot be revoked - unless she decides so herself or she finds herself excluded for bad behavior. Since all the relevant paperwork was filed with the Ministry back in August, I suggest you check your records. You have no right over young Hermione. Any further incident and I am prepared to invoke her guardian and let him settle the matter."

 **Yes, please.**

Hermione cringed. "With all due respect, Nagnok, that's a very bad idea."

"Indeed, Miss Granger. I have taken the time to research your guardian. To summon him _would_ be a very bad idea. But I will do so if it becomes necessary."

 **Nagnok is a sorcerer.**

 _Thank you for stating the obvious, Sephiroth._

 **He may have an idea why it is that you can't summon me.**

 _You think, with his experience, maybe he could?_

 **Maybe.**

"I suggest the Ministry looks into both these copies of Gringotts records, and their own archives. They will find everything in order. As the manager of House Granger's estates, I can say I would be very much… displeased… if we had to repeat this."

"Master Nagnok, I fear you misinterpret our efforts," Fudge said in his condescending tone. "This is for young Miss Granger's protection."

"Really?" Hermione snorted. "And did it not occur to the Ministry that I needed that protection earlier this year? Or were you too busy denying the return of the Dark Lord? No matter, really. It so happens that I do not need protection anymore."

"Miss Granger," and Hermione turned to the Headmaster as he spoke, "the Death Eaters are dangerous."

"So am I, Headmaster. Let them come and meet me in battle. My blade thirsts for their blood."

With an arrogant smirk, Hermione drew her wand and with a flick, the length of steel that was Genesis shimmered into existence.

"You dare to threaten the Minister," Umbridge screeched.

"I threaten no one but the Death Eaters at this moment in time, madam. Are you implying we should check Mr Fudge's left arm?"

But the toad shook her head with a snarl. "Seize her."

Three of the unnamed Ministry employees moved to comply with the order. Hermione was faster. She dodged a spell and swatted another aside with the flat of Genesis's blade as she ran at her enemies. The third did not have time to attack. Hermione was already upon him. A blast of ice magic sealed his feet to the floor. A knee to the stomach dropped him, bent double on the flagstones. The other two turned, mouth agape to see the girl already behind them. She hit the first with a left cross, sending him tumbling in the arms of his colleague. Both ended up in a tangle of limbs on the stones of the Great Hall.

 **Protect your honor.**

Hermione blinked at the seeming non-sequitur from the dark angel. She looked around the silent room, surveying the people who were now watching her in a mix of awe and fear. Then she smiled.

"I extend my thanks to the Houses of Malfoy, Parkinson, Longbottom, Bones, Weasley, Lovegood, and everyone else who might have stepped forward to offer their guardianship. I hope my House and all of yours may yet find a way to create some long-lasting ties between us."

Hermione executed a small bow to the room at large. Sanguini caught her eye as he flashed his fangs at her. The vampire gave a pointed look in direction of Nagnok then nodded in her direction. Unsure of the subtext, Hermione returned the nod and it seemed to satisfy the creature.

"Miss Granger, please make your way back to your estate while I finish here. I will join you shortly."

Nagnok's tone brooked no argument.

"Will you require transport, Nagnok?"

The goblin turned to look at her. He was silent for a beat then grinned.

"I will be fine, young miss. You go ahead."

With a smile and a shrug, Hermione gathered the magic of the Lifestream to her and stepped into its flow, disappearing from the Great Hall in a silent swirl of green light.

#

Hermione stepped out of the Lifestream and directly into her flat. A few waves of her wand helped her deal with the dust that had accumulated on surfaces over the past weeks. She took her shrunken trunk out of her pocket and returned it to its normal size before putting it and its contents away. She then blinked a few times and sat onto her settee.

"I've just fought with the Aurors."

 **If you want to be technical, you've just thrashed the Aurors. The word 'fight' would imply they came close to hitting you.**

Hermione let out a few giggles. She stood back up and started pacing around her living room. As she walked, she nibbled on the corner of her thumb, thoughts flying around her head. Would she be expelled? Or even arrested? This would be a good way to force her to fall in line. Not that she would go willingly. This flat was well warded. Better, it was protected by goblin magic. There was no way the Ministry could find her. And she didn't have the Trace on her anymore, so she could use her wand without risk. A knock on the door stopped her feet and she turned to look at the wooden panel.

"Who is it?"

"Nagnok."

Hermione went to the door and opened it for the goblin. The Gringotts employee stepped through and grinned at her, his sharp teeth glinting softly.

"It seems you have made an impression on the fools at Hogwarts. The Ministry has now officially recognized your status as an independent adult."

"So I gather they hadn't before," the sorceress muttered.

"Indeed not," Nagnok replied. "However, on to more pressing matters. As your Gringotts manager, I can assure you that the Ministry cannot access your vault without your express permission. Nor can anyone else who hasn't received your permission, relayed in writing to me. We value our sorcerers."

Hermione quirked a smile at the goblin. "And you probably do more than most, given you are a sorcerer yourself."

Nagnok didn't speak for a moment. But his smile said it all.

"Gringotts prides itself in collecting the worthiest of witches and wizards. You are a fine addition to our network of contacts."

Hermione's lips twitched. She wasn't too bothered by that. Goblins followed wealth. It mattered little to them if that wealth came from possessions, knowledge, or connections to the right people.

"And my place at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"The Headmaster seemed annoyed, to be sure. But he didn't indicate that your leaving in this manner had lost you your place. If I were you, and as it stands, I would simply get on the train come January."

Hermione nodded. Then she would do just that.

"I did learn more about Sephiroth, your guardian."

"So you said…"

"He's the Nightmare, fallen from another world after he tried to destroy it."

"One could say that," Hermione said with a one-shoulder shrug.

"And he has chosen to put you under his protection?"

"Chosen might be the wrong word. We were… thrust together by circumstances. We're trying to make the best of the situation."

Sephiroth chuckled lowly within Hermione's mind and the sorceress could not help but let a dark smile play about her lips. Nagnok regarded the young woman with shrewd eyes but chose not to ask. Instead, he pulled several scrolls from his satchels.

"Your accounts, as the Ministry was just shown. And I've taken the liberty to move you into a bigger vault. I thought you might want to be able to store some of your more… precious… books in there."

Hermione nodded, looking at the parchments in front of her.

"Nagnok, what does the Ministry know of sorcery?"

"Nothing," came the goblin's grinning reply.

And Hermione could not help but answer in kind.

#

Hermione continued her training over the next few days. She decided to focus on mastering the process of creating materia. The first few she had created, over the previous school break, had been rough — for lack of a better word. There had been little time and too many to create. The goblins had nevertheless been delighted with their payment. But Hermione was a perfectionist by nature. And so now, with Sephiroth carefully filtering skills and memories in the background of her mind, Hermione applied herself. Her training paid off as after a few days of non-stop efforts, she could create materia with a minimum of fuss. It took great concentration to create anything more than a three-slot materia, but she knew how to now. When she asked Sephiroth about this, the SOLDIER sent her the impression of him shrugging.

 **The Mako spells, as you call them, usually came in three. The same spell, really, in three variation of power. I assume there's a correlation somewhere.**

 _You never much were into understanding your magic._

 **Indeed not. Just using it.**

The young sorceress decided that materias were a cheap but extremely useful present. She asked Nagnok to recommend a goblin woodworker to her. She then commissioned a set of seven boxes on behalf of her friends, each designed to hold three materia upon a velvet stand within. She carefully duplicated the beginner-level sorcery books six times. And she went as far as visiting Madam Malkins to commission from the very confused seamstress seven sets of Third Class uniforms, one of which was to fit a certain goblin. She also took advantage of the trip to buy a few things for others she knew: Ginny would receive a new broom polishing kit; Ron, despite the fact that he was acting like a prat, would get this year's Chudley Cannon uniform; Molly and Arthur Weasley would receive a large box of fine chocolates; the twins would receive a rather large shipment of somewhat rare ingredients on the understanding that Hermione would get a discount on all their pranks' antidotes for the next year; and Professors McGonagall and Snape would each get a ring imbued with as strong a mixed magical shield as she could anchor to the metal. Both Professors also were told via notes that it was experimental magic at best, triggered by the casting of the basic Shielding Charm, she had no idea how many hits it could sustain in battle, and by no mean should they test it by standing in front a Killing Curse.

Hermione also continued with her efforts to summon the one-winged angel. The best she could ever do was go to the Lifestream and visit Sephiroth. It still wasn't the same, since Sephiroth wasn't physically present there, although he could make himself solid enough that they could spar if they wanted to. But the real surprise came to her in the form of Shiva. The Ice Empress shimmered into view a few days before Christmas as Sephiroth and the young witch were discussing what they would do once they returned to Hogwarts. With a wave of her blue-skinned hand, the Gaian spirit dragged Hermione into the Lifestream, dumping the witch sorceress into the River of Life with a smirk. The Gryffindor scowled as she was immersed into Mako once more, the power of the planet rushing through her spirit and her body both. Sephiroth appeared by her side, making sure she was all right before turning back to Shiva.

"Care to explain?"

"I think you need to know something important before you make any decision," said the Gaian spirit.

As she spoke, another spirit appeared beside her. Hermione looked to Sephiroth but the silver-haired warrior shook his head. This was not a spirit he knew.

"My name is Morgana Le Fey."

Hermione's gasp brought a smile to the Terran spirit's lips.

"Yes, Miss Granger. **_That_** Morgana. I come here with a warning. And a request."

"Care to explain first," Sephiroth asked.

"Morgana was the greatest sorceress to have ever lived. This is the woman who wrote the journals we've been using."

Now Sephiroth looked impressed, in his own, indifferent kind of way.

"The spirit world is talking a lot about your recent mastery over the Mako powers," the older sorceress started.

"I wouldn't say 'mastery'."

"Close enough," Morgana said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "However, I have come to offer some knowledge that you might need over the course of the next months."

Hermione breathed in slowly. "I'm listening."

"It's been years since the spiritual world has been stable. Decades, really. There is something, out there, that stops it from being so."

"And you think I can find that something?"

"Maybe. What do you know of soul magic?"

"You mean, beyond the fact that it's a Dark Art and not to be trifled with? Not much."

"But you do understand that not all of the Dark Arts are evil?" At Hermione's nod, Morgana continued. "A long time ago, by human standards anyway, a wizard seeking to make himself immortal found a way to attach a piece of his soul to an object. As long as that object was intact, it acted as an anchor, preventing the wizard's soul from entering the great Beyond. He named the resulting, soul-guarding object a horcrux. And the method he used to create his horcrux was most definitely evil: he murdered someone, in cold blood and knowing precisely what it would do to his soul; he was counting on it, in fact."

Hermione nodded again, not sure where the older sorceress was going with this, but knowing better than to interrupt.

"These days, another wizard has gone through that same process. To create one horcrux is vile enough, but this man has murdered seven times to ensure his immortality. It saved his life just over a decade ago, and a servant of his has helped him regain a physical form just a couple of years ago."

"Voldemort," Hermione growled and Morgana acknowledged her with a slow nod.

"It's all well and good to create a horcrux. But when it is used, it destabilizes the spiritual world. In the few occasions previous, there was only one horcrux calling back the bound soul. It did its job, brought back the soul, and the spell ended…"

"Only this time, there's seven horcruxes…"

"Well, five actually," Morgana said, a pleased little smile upon her lips. "I have spoken with as many as I could before I came to see you. The first was destroyed a few years back and the second used up its power and is a horcrux no more."

"So, it leaves five."

"Yes, and these five are calling out across the spiritual world, looking for a soul that is there no longer. The resulting effects are… not pleasant for us."

Knowing that Morgana would have been a Slytherin if Hogwarts had existed during her lifetime, Hermione was pretty certain this was a major understatement.

"And you think I can help?"

"You are a sorceress. Your magic is bound to the very essence that gives everything life. It is my belief that you will be able to identify those objects. And be able to get rid of them, yes."

"A rather great expectation of someone who has only just learned of these powers," Sephiroth said.

"Maybe so," Morgana agreed, "but right now, we have no one else. Those who should be hunting the horcruxes are not doing so."

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that someone else knows about this?"

"It is believed that your Headmaster Dumbledore knows, yes."

Hermione let her head drop against her chest and she sighed.

"I'm really starting to wonder if Dumbledore is working with Harry, or against him."

The three spirits said nothing and Hermione shook her head.

"Care to give me as much info about this as you can, Lady Morgana?"

"Just Morgana, child," the sorceress smiled. "And I only have the rest of eternity."

The two sorceresses exchanged a smile and got down to business. The rest of the day was spent with Hermione learning as much as she could from the older sorceress. Despite the fact that she was nothing more than a spirit now, the sorceress seemed eager to have a student to pass on some of her knowledge to. The problem of the horcruxes was explored and then left behind, everyone agreeing that Dumbledore must know far more than what he was willing to say. Until Hermione could somehow pry that knowledge from the Headmaster, the Terran and Gaian spirits would be working blind, attempting to follow the threads of dark magic around the Lifestream in an effort to pinpoint the physical location of the soul remnants. Sephiroth said nothing much during this conversation, but Hermione could feel his unease through their link. She knew little of the General's past, but enough to understand that he had once used something somewhat similar in an attempt to control remnants of himself that had been created by the Shinra scientists. With Morgana's guidance, and occasional comments from Sephiroth, Hermione moved on to learning how to refine the materias she had created for her friends for Christmas.

"It is quite amazing how quickly you have managed to learn sorcery," Morgana commented as she watched Hermione poured Mako power into the small crystals before her.

"I suppose it helps I have my very own Gaian guardian angel."

Sephiroth scoffed at the title, but Hermione only smiled brightly at him, happy for the opportunity to tease the often too serious SOLDIER. Hermione finished her spell and blinked against the black spots dancing across her vision, aftereffects of the blinding white-green lights of the Lifestream.

"So let me get this completely straight in my mind," Hermione said as she settled on the ground. "On Gaia, materia would be restricted to an actual spell. As you used the materia, it would become stronger and allow you to then hit more than one enemy at a time, and harder too. Or to use a support or command ability to a greater extent. Or even to lend more power to whatever summon you were linked with through the materia…"

"Correct, though stated somewhat simply," Sephiroth said.

"By comparison, the Terran materia can learn Mako spells across a category or class: summon, magic, support, command, or individual. They're not restricted to a particular spell family like in Gaia. But only the natural Mako crystals - those that can sometimes be found by large Mako springs, like the one in my wand - can learn spells across classes. But one way or the other, the Terran materia will only learn spells that their users know because they will attune themselves to those spells most often used."

"Correct again," Morgana said with a little smile.

Hermione nodded as she watched the materia spread out in front of them. Three each for her potential recruits. It might be a bad idea to give them materia before they truly knew how to use their sorcery powers, but the coming war made waiting impractical. With a last shake of her head, Hermione pulled herself forcefully from the Lifestream.

She stumbled back into her physical form and fell to her knees. Her vision swam before her, the cold darkness of her flat so jarring after spending long hours in the bright warmth of Mako. The Gryffindor witch pushed herself to a standing position, leaning heavily on the nearby table. A quick look at the clock by her kitchen area confirmed that she'd spend more than five hours in the River of Life — not a good idea even for people as used to dipping in and out of the Lifestream as she was. She slowly gathered her senses and went on to put the finishing touches to her Christmas presents for her friends. As the sun set and its light was replaced by the glares of orange and white street lights, Hermione finished tying the last red bow in place. Hopefully, they would all appreciate her efforts.

#

 **Author's Note** : Before I ramble on, there's one thing I wanted to say. To the guest reviewer named Phoenix:

My soul, enlightened by your review

Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey

In my own salvation

And this new chapter

Phoenix, I offer thee this silent sacrifice

Sorry to those of you who aren't die-hard fans of Final Fantasy 7, but Phoenix started it in their review. It tickled me so much that I blasted fingers to keyboard every spare moment I had to reply as soon as I possibly can. I had a day off from work this week due to it being my birthday, so that helped in my endeavor. Anyway, for those who want to understand what this was all about, look up the LOVELESS poem that was created for the FF7 universe, and the Crisis Core game in particular.

To be fair, I had a full first draft and half a second draft to work from this time along with a full day off, so I doubt I can publish another chapter that quickly…

Anyway… A big thank you to everyone, guests and members of this site alike, who have taken the time to follow, favorite, or even write reviews and/or PMs over the last chapter. I hope you will be satisfied with this one too. And as you may have noticed, I get inspirations from all sorts of things: sending me messages/reviews may prompt me into an intense writing overdose and give you an earlier update.


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